Winning the Digimon Queen's Favor
by GWAtti
Summary: It is not easy to get on Rika's good side. However, when a wild one shows up trying to make her his tamer, she finds herself being forced to rely on her friends to fight him. One gogglehead sees this as his chance to win her over. Stand-alone. Rukato ending. Happy Valentines Day.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 1

Rika Nonaka was a simple girl. She went to school, she went home, and not much else. She was also one of the digimon tamers who had saved Tokyo from a scary red blob, but she gave it little thought: remembering old fights can only be exciting for so long before you find yourself wishing you could get into a new one.

Her teacher continues to mumble on about Meiji or Meijin or some other historical person she couldn't care less about. Her eyes glaze over and she glances at the clock at the side of the room: Five minutes until class ends; five minutes till the weekend.

The sound of two girls giggling and whispering behind her soon causes a scowl to form on her face and she turns to gaze out the window. She doesn't see her, but she knows her partner, a kitsune-like digimon called Renamon, must be out there somewhere.

 _Maybe in the tree: She tends to hide there a lot. Then again, she spends time on the school roof too…_

 _Are you looking for me, Rika?_ A voice asks in her thoughts.

 _No. Guessing where you are is just more interesting than…_

"Ms. Nonaka, are you paying attention?" the teacher at the front of the room asks, drawing the red-haired girl from her thoughts. "If you were, then tell me how Emperor Meiji returned to power over the Tokugawa Shogunate."

Rika squints, trying to conjure an answer, but nothing comes to her and she merely scowls and looks away, muttering loud enough for the teacher to hear, "Don't know and don't care."

"Well if that's going to be your attitude, I see detention in your future," the teacher responds. The school bell suddenly chimes and all the students stand and grab their books.

"Be sure to read chapters twelve and thirteen before Monday," the teacher shouts over the bustling crowd of girls. Rika stands, pulling her school bag over her shoulder, and makes her way towards the door.

"Ms. Nonaka, a word," the teacher states before she can leave. Rika huffs but walks over to her teacher's desk.

"Being as it's the weekend, and I can tell you want to get out of here, I'm going to forego detention… this time." Rika keeps silent, merely arching a brow in surprise.

"In the future, please keep your head in the lesson where it belongs. If any more monsters attack the city, I will let you deal with it, but other than that, I want your undivided attention. You are still my student and still a young woman, after all."

"Thanks. Anything else?" Rika asks, trying to hide some of the sarcasm she would normally put into that statement. The teacher sighs and turns his head, gesturing with his hand that she is free to go.

Rika turns abruptly and walks out of the classroom, down the hall, and towards the school's doors. As she exits the school, she enters the school's front yard, seeing her classmates standing around, texting, and gossiping. She maintains the frown on her face as she walks past, overhearing some of them talking about the dance over the weekend:

"Oh…my…goodness… You got that cute German guy from Shinjuku Junior High to go with you?!" one of them exclaims.

"Yea, I know!" the other girl states in giddy fashion. "I mean, how lucky am I? Günter Klein is my date to the dance this Sunday!" The girls all scream and clap in excitement. "He's so exotic!" a third one adds.

"I've got Tomoshi Ishikawa to come with me. He's so dreamy…"

"Not as dreamy as my date!" the second one insists. "I'm going with Yamato Chiba from Yamabuki High."

"No way! You got a high school freshman!?" a fourth asks. Rika rolls her eyes as she passes, moving swiftly towards the gate that leads out to main street. As she approaches she suddenly hears, "Wait Rika!"

Rolling her eyes, she turns around and arches a brow as the four girls run up to her. "Who are you going with to the dance?"

"I'm not going to that stupid dance, " Rika responds simply before attempting to turn and leave.

"Not going?!" The first girl shouts with shock. "You can't just not go!"

"Maybe she doesn't have a date!" the third says, putting her palm up to her mouth, as if to symbolize surprise.

"Like, no way. You're the daughter of a model! Boys should be crawling over each other for the chance to go with you," the fourth chimes in.

"Seriously though, you gotta go to the dance!" the second adds.

"Not. Interested," Rika announces in the coldest voice she can muster.

"Well what else are you going to do?" the first asks. "Are you really going to just spend all weekend playing with digimon cards?"

"Or hanging with those undesirables?" a fourth adds with an inward laugh. "Come on, Rika. You should hang with the in-crowd more!"

"What I'm doing is none of your business!" Rika answers the girl harshly.

"Oh yea, she's totally planning on hanging out with those kids from Yobodashi Middle School," the second adds with a laugh of her own.

"Well let's be fair," the third one chimes in. "Some of them are cute. I'd definitely go if that Ryo boy asked me." Rika buries her face in her palm, Renamon soon phasing in behind her. Each of the girls jumps in fright, lets out a squeal, and runs off.

"Is something wrong, Rika?" Renamon asks. "Were those girls bothering you?"

"Yea, you couldn't do that sooner?" Rika asks in her typical demanding tone of voice. Renamon's facial expression doesn't change and she gives no reply, allowing Rika to begin walking before following in her footsteps.

"Let's just get home so I can get out of this stupid uniform and meet the others in the park," Rika grumbles out as she marches up the street. "I don't intend to wear this dress for one more minute than I have to." She makes a quick turn into an alleyway, marching along until she exits on the other side and approaches an ornate wall with a large door. Pressing on it, the door opens and she enters a lush green courtyard.

As she closes the gate behind her, Renamon phases in next to her once more and asks, "What were those girls talking about that had you so annoyed, Rika?"

"It's nothing… Just some stupid dance this weekend," Rika responds as she approaches a traditional Japanese structure and follows along the hall to reach a sliding door to her room. She quickly pulls off her school uniform and changes into her traditional taming gear; a white t-shirt with light blue sleeves and a dark blue heart on the front as well as simple jeans with a belt wrapped around her left leg. She attaches her card pouch and d-ark to the belt on her waist and returns outside, where Renamon waits.

"A dance?" Renamon asks, as if perplexed by the term.

"Yea, you know," Rika responds, deciding to entertain her partner's curiosity. "You go with other people and move in rhythm with music. You can do it by yourself, with a group, or with a single partner."

"I see," Renamon responds simply, her tail flicking with amusement behind her.

"Come on," Rika commands. "I want to see if I actually beat Gogglehead and Braniac to the park today." She runs off, Renamon phasing in and out behind her.

* * *

"Throw it again Takato!" a red saurian creature named Guilmon cheers with glee as he returns a ball to his human friend. Takato takes it from him and tosses again, saying, "Alright, go get it, boy!"

Guilmon surges after it, easily snatching it again before bringing it back."

"No fair!" A long-eared bunny-like creature grumbles. "I have little legs!"

"I wanna catch the ball too!" a small white digimon with large, shrinkable ears pipes up in agreement. "Guilmon's hogging it!" The boy named Takato puts a hand to the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Calumon. This next one I throw will be just between you and Terriermon, ok?"

"Ha! I'm gonna get that one!" the rabbit-like digimon claims.

"Play nice, Terriermon," a blue haired boy sitting off to the side says. "I will, I will Henry. Momentai, will ya?" Guilmon returns the ball to Takato, who pats him on the snout and says, "Ok boy. Don't run after this one. We're going to let one of them get it." He winds back and tosses, both Terriermon and Calumon zipping after it. By expanding his ears and gliding, Calumon easily reaches the ball first, jumping up and down with joy while holding it up.

"Yea! I got it! Hooray for me! Yay, Calumon!" the little creampuff digimon cheers.

"Aww nuts. Lost to a creampuff," Terriermon grumbles, crossing his little paws in front of his chest.

"You're losing you're edge, Helicopter-Head." A purple, impish-like creature hops down from a branch above, placing his red-gloved hands on his hips.

"Hiya, Impmon. Did you come to play too?" Guilmon asks.

"Hah! Me play with you mooks! Well, I guess since I'm here, I can show you all how it's done…"

"Ohhh! Can Impmon be on my team?" Calumon asks, running back up to the others with the ball.

"Calumon, there aren't any teams in fetch," a young girl sitting near Henry interjects with a mild laugh.

"But we could have teams, Jeri," Calumon asserts, shrinking his ears down to make his big eyes more prominent. "We could play a game with me and Impmon against Guilmon and Terriermon."

"What would we play if not fetch?" Guilmon asks with a cock of the head.

"Well, there's lots of games to play, boy," Takato interjects. "You could make up a game if you wanted."

"Yay! I'm great at making up games!" Calumon cheers while jumping from foot to foot with excitement. "Aww nuts, we're letting the creampuff make up rules for a game?" Impmon says with an exasperated look.

The four digimon run off with the ball and Takato walks over and takes a seat beside Henry and Jeri, letting out a deep breath.

"They sure keep you on your toes, don't they?" Henry prods, to which Takato gives a nod. "Tell me about it. I'll never understand where they get all the energy."

"Yea, they're a handful. Especially Calumon," Jeri adds with a giggle. "Luckily, Masahiko satisfies most of his desire to play."

They sit silently for a while, nothing but the sound of birds chirping reaching their ears. "It's a really nice day, isn't it?" Takato asks, breaking the silence.

"You bet," Henry answers, leaning back in the grass. "And for once, you don't have detention."

"Yea, but Kazu and Kenta do," Takato replies. "I told them to stop shooting spitballs at Miki and Ayaka, but of course they didn't listen."

"Yea, Mr. Montoshi isn't nearly as patient as Ms. Asaji was. He was really mad when one of them hit the board," Jeri adds with a laugh. "They'll probably be writing those apologies until their hands fall off."

As the digimon play, Guilmon suddenly stops, turning his head towards the right and testing the air with his nostrils. Impmon quickly swipes the ball from his claw and tosses it to Calumon, but the red saurian seems to pay it no heed.

"What are you doing, Guilmon?" Terriermon groans. "You lost the ball!"

"I smell a digimon!" Guilmon announces before bolting off in the direction he had been sniffing. "Hey wait!" Terriermon yells after him. "Don't you need Takatomon if you're going after a digimon?"

"Eh, ba-boom. Go get the humans. I'll baby-sit Pineapple-Head," Impmon commands before hopping off after the red saurian, Calumon tossing his ball aside and gliding after him.

Terriermon dashes over to Henry, Takato, and Jeri, shouting, "Come on, slowpokes! We got a digimon emerging!" Takato and Henry jump up from their relaxed positions. "A digimon? Now?" Henry asks.

"Guilmon and Impmon are already after it! Come on! I want to get some of the action!"

* * *

Rika passes swiftly through he crowded streets, Renamon jumping across lampposts above her. Her headphones block out almost all the noise around her and she crosses the street when the signal finally turns.

As she reaches the street corner to turn and head to the park, she pauses, feeling a strange warmth coming from an alley to her right. She pulls her earphones out as Renamon appears next to her. "Do you feel something coming from over there, Renamon?" she asks. The kitusne squints into the darkness before replying, "I feel warm, but I don't see or sense any digimon."

"I think we should check it out," Rika states plainly before beginning to waltz off in the direction of the alley, not waiting for an agreement or confirmation from her partner.

As she enters the alley, she pulls out her d-ark, activating its compass function. The red arrow spins and spins but doesn't seem to pick up any signals. Rika squints however, soon realizing that, though the arrow had not stopped moving, it was moving only in a confined area, swinging back and forth in the general direction of diagonally forward-left.

She walks forward up the alley and takes a sharp left and sure enough discovers the billowing fog of a digital field. "Ah ha!" Rika exclaims with a smirk while pulling on her sunglasses. "Finally, we get some action!" She bolts into the fog, Renamon darting in after her.

Renamon appears next to her partner as she removes her sunglasses and glances around the area. "There doesn't seem to be a digimon in here, Rika," Renamon points out.

"Well there has to be," Rika responds decisively. "Digital fields don't just pop up for no reason. It means a digimon bio-emerged." They both continue to glance around for a few moments before Renamon suggests, "Perhaps it is looking for a partner and we are scaring it."

Rika lets out a "pfft," blowing a bang from in front of her eye and replies, "Fine… Hey, come out! We're not going to hurt you. If you're looking for a partner, then just come out."

"Oh no. Not looking. I believe I have found my partner…" Rika and Renamon both turn to where they think the voice had come from. It chuckles before saying, "I'm over here… Behind you." Rika suddenly feels a warmth behind her and turns, at last noticing a tall knight in a red cloth-like outfit, covered in areas by silver armor. He also wears a purple tabard, a wizard-like hat, and flowing purple cape. In his hand, he holds a flaming sword and in the other, a crystalline ball, swirling with purple smoke.

"Yes. You're perfect, Digimon Queen." Rika jumps back and Renamon places herself between the two of them. The knight seems to chuckle at the sight: "Well, if it isn't a little lost fox."

"Sorry, she's taken," Renamon states calmly, though with a suggestion of threat. The knight only laughs again. "And she thinks she can intimidate me. All the more entertaining."

"I don't know who you think you are, but Renamon is my partner and I'm not open to trading," Rika warns.

"No?" the knight asks, as if confused. "You believe this lowly creature to be more worthy than I in serving you? Perhaps you'll permit me a duel, then?

"All right. You asked for it," Renamon states with a smirk before jumping back and spreading her arms. "Diamond Storm!" Sharp shards of light form and fly forth, pelting against the knight, who seems entirely unfazed, a smile of amusement resting on his face.

Says he's Mistymon, an ultimate level mystic knight digimon. He's a virus type who combines his magical capabilities with his expertise in combat and bests his foes using his Core Dart and Blast Fire attacks. "Virus type. So we're already at a disadvantage. Renamon, time to digivolve!"

"Ready when you are, Rika," the kitsune replies.

"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

 _Matrix Digivolution…_

 _Renamon digivolve to… Kyubimon!_

 _Kyubimon digivolve to… Taomon!_

"Ah, another magician, I see," Mistymon utters amusedly as Taomon touches down. "All the more interesting if this is to be a magical duel."

"How about a little trick to start things off? Thousand Spells!" Taomon shoots several cards from her sleeve, but Mistymon easily jumps aside to avoid the attack.

"Blast Fire!" Flames spout from his blade and he sends a wave of it towards his opponent.

"Talisman Spell!" Taomon quickly raises a shield to defend herself, the flames licking at the spell but failing to dispel or penetrate it. Unfortunately, as the flames clear, Taomon realizes that Mistymon had not intended to strike her with that attack. The knight was already in the air, falling toward her, blade cocked back and ready to strike.

"Core Dart!" Mistymon is engulfed and flames and accelerates downward, like a bullet, easily breaking through the shield and tackling Taomon. He steps aside, allowing his opponent to return to her feet. "Let's go another round, shall we?" he taunts.

"Digi-Modify! Hyper-speed activate!" Rika pulls a card through her d-ark and Taomon smirks before zipping away, faster than the blink of an eye. Mistymon begins to loom around, but doesn't notice as Taomon materializes behind him. "Talisman of Light!" Pulling a paintbrush from within her sleeve, Taomon draws a kanji, which shoots forward, pounding Mistymon in the back and forcing him forward. He laughs as he returns to his feet, pointing at her with his blade. "Looks like someone is forgetting the rules of chivalry."

"Chivalry this! Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

"Thousand Spells!" Mistymon quickly pulls his cloak around him, allowing the cards to pelt at him and fall away. "Blast Fire!"

"Digi-Modify! Defense chip activate!"

"Talisman Spell!" Taomon raises her shield, easily defending herself from the attack. Anticipating her foe's next move, she turns, pulling out her paintbrush and locking it with Mistymon's blade, just as he swings down. In a swift motion however, he disengages and disarms his foe, sending the paintbrush falling back to earth before swinging with his flaming blade at his now exposed opponent.

Taomon tries to jump back, but is still caught by the blade's tip, and she collapses to one knee as she lands, gripping at the wound.

"Hang on, Taomon! Digi-Modify! Recharge activate!" Refreshed, Taomon stands in defiance of Mistymon once more, ready to resume the fight.

"Alright! Time for a new tactic! Digi…"

"I think we've had enough of that, my Queen," Mistymon mutters aloud, holding his orb forward. Rika's d-ark vanishes from her grip and appears within Mistymon's orb. Now, where were we, Taomon?"

"Give that back! Talisman of Light!" Mistymon swings his blade, easily deflecting the attack.

"Blast Fire!" Taomon dodges to the side before tossing her "Thousand Spells!" attack. Once again, Mistymon stands idle, allowing the cards to slam harmlessly into him. "Not so tough without the Digimon Queen to back you up. You are truly a waste of her talents," he taunts while bearing his sword up once again. "What do you say we finish this little dance? Blast Fire!"

"Talisman Spell!" Taomon raises her shield to guard against the attack, the flames once again licking at it but failing to overcome it. As the flames dissipate, she again turns, intent on parrying Mistymon once again. This time, however, Mistymon did not attempt to outflank her and instead charges forth just as she turns. "Core Dart!"

"Taomon! Look out!" Rika yells. Taomon turns just in time to avoid being impaled and attempts to jump aside. She still takes the brunt of the attack, however, and rolls off to the side, soon dedigivolving back to a clearly beaten Renamon.

"She is an admirable fighter, but as you can see, I am far superior," Mistymon croons as he approaches Rika, insuring he stays between her and Renamon.

"Stay away from me!" Rika demands, but Mistymon seems to pay no heed, waltzing right up to her and grabbing her arm. "Think of how strong we could be together. I want to be stronger and only you can make it so. Tame me!"

Rika struggles to escape his hold but his grip is firm and he begins to pull her along. "Come now. You will find I am a far superior part…" He suddenly releases his hold on Rika as he is shoved aside, the form of Guilmon tumbling after him before jumping back up, body crouched and eyes constricted in preparation for battle.

"Another one?" Mistymon grumbles as he regains his footing. Guilmon growls lightly, his pupils still locked on the knight. "You shouldn't hurt my friends! It's not very nice!"

"And what will you do about…?"

"Bada Boom!" Mistymon turns a bored expression as a tiny flame singes and dissipates on his shoulder pad. Impmon leaps down from the roof above them and lands atop Guilmon's back. "So you did this to Fox-face? Didn't anyone teach you how to treat a lady, you pointy eared freak?"

"Two rookies. I'm all a-quiver!" he taunts, holding his sword in front of him.

"Actually, it's a rookie and a mega!" _Impmon warp digivolve to… Beelzemon!_

"A Demon Lord: How very interesting," Mistymon coos with a smirk.

"How's this for interesting? Double Impact!"

"Pyro Sphere!"

Mistymon dodges aside, avoiding the attacks remarkably easily. "Two against one. Hardly a chivalrous fight. Can't we dance one at a time?"

"You're mine, bub! Darkness Claw!" Beelzemon dives for the knight, who simply swings his sword out in front of him: "Blast Fire!" Beelzemon swipes through the flames, soon finding his target had disappeared. "What the…"

"Core Dart!" Mistymon slams into Beelzemon's back, piercing deep, right where his tail enters his back. Beelzemon turns and swipes with his claws, but Mistymon jumps back to avoid the blow, pulling his blade with him.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon fires another sphere, which hits Mistymon in the back, drawing an irked look from the knight.

"Double Impact! Beelzemon fires and Mistymon moves aside, allowing the bullet to fly in Guilmon's direction. Guilmon jumps and swings one of his claws: "Rock Breaker!" Miraculously, his timing is perfect, and he breaks the bullet just before it could impact with either him, or one of the girls behind him.

"Terrier Tornado!" A tiny green twister blows into Mistymon, doing little more than causing his cape to billow, as Henry, Takato, Jeri, and Calumon arrive behind him.

"I made it just in time to get some action! Hit me up, Henry!"

"Digi Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

 _Matrix Digivolution…_

 _Terriermon digivolve to… Gargomon!_

 _Gargomon digivolve to… Rapidmon!_

"Perhaps another time tamers…" Mistymon mutters before pulling his cloak around himself.

"Oh no you don't! Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon fires, his missiles striking the ground where Mistymon stands. As the smoke clears however, it is clear that the knight had vanished.

"Aww, no fun!" Rapidmon whines as he touches down, allowing himself to dedigivolve immediately.

"Rika, are you all right?" Takato asks, running up to her as she helps Renamon to her feet. "I'm fine, Gogglehead, but if you hadn't noticed, Renamon might not be."

"Oh…" Takato answers, mentally berating himself for his lack of attention to context. "I might have a recharge card on me…"

"It doesn't matter…" Rika groans out with annoyance. "He took my digivice…"

"He what?" Henry shouts in surprise. "How'd he get it?"

"I don't know!" Rika shouts at the boy. "He teleported it out of my hand or something!"

"Don't worry, Rika. We'll get it back," Jeri assures. Rika clenches her fists at her side and takes a heavy breath to keep herself from taking her frustration out on the girl before nodding.

Beelzemon dedigivolves back to Impmon before saying, "Ordinarily I'd offer to track down that mook, but I gotta get back home to Ai and Mako before they start worrying about me."

"We can go looking for him tomorrow," Henry suggests. "I'll talk to my dad and see if I can get a hold of Mr. Yamaki to help us track him down."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jeri says with a smile. "Meet in the park tomorrow morning?" Rika crosses her arms and turns her face away, but moves her head in a nodding fashion to show her agreement to the terms.

"Great. I'll tell Kazu and Kenta so that they know," Jeri adds before waving goodbye. She runs off down the alleyway, Calumon zooming after her.

"Are you sure you're ok, Rika?" Takato asks, cocking his head.

"Are your goggles on too tight that your brain isn't processing what I said?" Rika responds harshly. "I'm fine!"

"Calm down, Rika. We're just worried about you," Henry says in Takato's defense.

"Yea, momentai already!" Terriermon shouts cheerfully. "We'll get your digivice back from that guy."

"Whatever," is Rika's response as she pivots. "Come on Renamon. I guess we're going home." Renamon limps off after her tamer, both Guilmon and Takato watching as they go.

"You gonna head home Takato?" Henry asks as he too turns to leave. Takato continues to stare in the direction Rika had gone before looking at Henry and raising a brow. "Did you say something Henry?"

"Uh oh. Daydream alert!" Terriermon quips from Henry's shoulder. "I asked if you were heading home," Henry states once more while raking his knuckles over his partner's head.

"What if that digimon attacks Renamon again, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks, looking at his tamer for reassurance.

Takato again looks back in the direction Rika had gone. "It did look like Renamon was hurt pretty badly... I think I'm going to make sure Rika get's back home before I head back myself."

"Well, alright. I'll see you tomorrow then," Henry says with a nod before walking away, Terriermon throwing a knowing look at Takato. As they disappear down the alley, Guilmon and Takato run off in the direction Rika and Renamon had gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 2

Mistymon glides from rooftop to rooftop, following Rika and Renamon as they traverse the avenues below. He follows them into an alleyway and was about to jump down in front of them, but stopped upon hearing "Hey Rika! Wait up!" Turning an annoyed glare back down the alleyway, he sees a young man with yellow goggles run up, the red saurian creature he had battled earlier at his side.

"What do you want, Gogglehead?" Rika asks, as if annoyed that the boy had followed her.

"Well Renamon is hurt and you don't have your digivice to make her digivolve," Takato starts. "I figured I should walk home with you in case that knight digimon shows up again."

"Mistymon, and I can take care of myself. Just go home."

"But Rika…"

Guilmon begins sniffing, his eyes soon constricting before hunching over and growling. "I smell him again. He's close."

 _It seems it's time to make myself scarce._ Mistymon vanishes from his position before anyone can notice; Guilmon soon calming upon realizing his target had fled. Takato and Rika each breath a sigh of relief neither knew they had been holding. "He must be following you, Rika," Takato continues, "and Renamon can't fight him alone…"

"Ok ok. You can walk with me until I get back home, Gogglehead." She turns and gestures for him to follow, Renamon flashing a glare at him before following. No, not a glare…a look of gratitude maybe? Takato can't tell but quickly puts the thought aside and dashes up to get beside his friend.

"You know, you never made it to the park today," Takato begins, trying to strike up some conversation. Rika replies only with a grunt of annoyance, causing Takato to bite his lip and rethink his approach.

"I know I must have asked this already but…"

"Yes, I'm fine," Rika responds before he finishes. "Other than the fact that Renamon is hurt and I've lost my d-ark and have no way of helping her, everything is just great…"

Takato glances back at Renamon, then returns his attention to Rika, face lighting up with understanding before saying, "Oh, you feel bad about losing that fight?"

"I didn't lose that fight!" Rika responds sharply. "He took my digivice and I couldn't do anything!"

"Sorry! That's not what I meant..." Takato answers while making a placating gesture. When she turns her attention forward again, he rubs the back of his head and continues, "I mean, I would feel bad if Guilmon got hurt and I lost my only way of helping him."

"Well I'm not you, Gogglebrain. I don't spend my time feeling sorry for myself."

"Yea…I know…" Takato answers, finally giving up on trying to talk with her.

"Listen…" Rika says after a few moments of silence, "I don't mean to take my frustration out on you…"

"Oh, it's ok. I'm kinda used to it… Wait, that came out wrong… What I meant was…"

"Could you shut up for just a minute?" Rika shouts, causing Takato to silence himself near immediately. "All I'm trying to say is…thanks for worrying about me…"

"Oh, yea. You're welcome. I always worry about you." Rika squints in confusion at him and Takato turns his gaze away. "Well you know, about Henry, and Kazu, and Kenta too… Hehe."

"Do you worry about me, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks, feeling left out. "Well, yea. Of course I worry about you, boy," Takato says with a chuckle.

Rika continues to stare for a moment or so, eventually deciding to drop the subject and returning her attention forward as they near the gate to her house.

"Well, here you are. Safe and sound…" Takato says, placing a hand on the back of his head.

"Yea. Thanks for walking with me," Rika mutters as she opens the gate. "I'll see you at the park tomorrow."

"You bet," Takato says with a grin from ear to ear.

As the gate closes Takato turns and, as he begins to walk, trips over Guilmon's tail, shouting, "Wahh!" and landing, face first, on the concrete sidewalk.

"Takatomon?" Guilmon asks, hovering over his tamer. "You fell down."

"Yea…" Takato grumbles as he places his hand under himself and pushes himself back up. "I really gotta watch where I'm walking…"

"Is it time to go home yet, Takato? I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry, boy," Takato adds with a chuckle. "But yea, we can head home now." He glances once more at Rika's gate, smiling slightly to himself, before strolling slowly back the way he had come, Guilmon cantering at equal pace beside him.

* * *

Rika enters the kitchen of her house to find both her mother and grandmother sitting at the table, enjoying some tea.

"Oh Rika, darling, you're home early!" Rumiko, her mother, exclaims when the girl enters. "How was school?" Rika walks over the refrigerator and pulls out a can of soda before replying, "Nothing worth speaking of, mom."

"Well what about this flyer for a dance I received in the mail?" Rumiko asks, holding up a piece of paper while Rika stiffens. "I think it's just wonderful that they're putting on such an event! It's the perfect opportunity to show off those good looks you inherited from me."

"I'm not going to that dance," Rika states, attempting to keep her tone calm and collected.

"But…why not?" her mother answers, disappointment clear in her voice. "Don't you want to…?"

"Dear, I think you should respect Rika's wishes on the matter," Seiko, Rika's grandmother, interjects. "Events like this simply don't interest her."

"But I already bought the loveliest dress for her to wear," Rumiko answers, causing Rika to bury her face in her palm. "Rika, you should at least think about going."

"Ok. Thought about it. No," Rika responds before moving to leave the kitchen.

"But why not, sweetie?" Rumiko continues to press. "You're growing up and I just don't want you to miss out on anything you might regret."

"Mom, I'm really not in the mood to talk about this!" Rika shouts, turning to face her mother.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Seiko asks. "Did something happen?" Rika turns a slightly started look towards her grandmother before looking away, letting out a small sigh, and replying, "Renamon and I got into a fight today and it didn't go very well…"

"Oh my goodness!" Rumiko shouts. "Are you both alright?" This draws a brand new look of annoyance from Rika, causing Seiko to place her hand over her daughter's and signal for Rika to continue. "Ordinarily I wouldn't care, but he took my digivice, so now I can't help Renamon…"

"Where were the rest of your friends while this was happening?" Rumiko speaks up again. "Aren't they supposed to be helping you deal with wild digimon?"

"Rumiko, let the girl speak," Seiko implores calmly.

"It attacked me while I was walking to the park to meet them. They showed up and chased it off, but he still has my d-ark, so I have no way of swiping a card to heal Renamon."

"Why don't you bring her in here, dear. A cup of tea might be good," Seiko suggests. Renamon quickly materializes behind Rika and gives a bow to Seiko. "Tea would be much appreciated…"

Seiko moves to pour the kitsue some tea and Rumiko again presses her daughter with questions: "Were you hurt in the fight, sweetie? Is that wild digimon still out there? Are those friends of yours going to retrieve your device for you? Have you notified Mr. Yamaki? Have…?"

"Everything is fine mom!" Rika shouts in reply to the barrage of questions. "Takato walked me home afterward to make sure it didn't come after me again and we're going to meet in the park tomorrow."

Rumiko's eyes light up, and it becomes clear she hadn't heard the second part of Rika's sentence when she says, "Takato walked you home?! And you didn't invite him in for tea or a snack or…"

"Mom!" Rika shouts again, clearly becoming agitated. Rumiko immediately silences herself and turns her attention back to her tea. "Listen, it's been a long day and I don't want talk about all the details right now. I'll be in my room…" She exits the kitchen, causing Renamon to look to Seiko and ask, "May I take this cup with me?"  
Upon receiving a nod from Seiko, Renamon follows in the direction Rika had gone.

"I don't understand why Rika won't talk to me about this digimon stuff," Rumiko ruminates a moment or so after Renamon had left.

"She will, when she is ready to, dear. You have to be patient with her," Seiko answers, taking her seat once more.

"And why doesn't she want to go to the dance? I really thought this whole phase with her would pass, but she doesn't seem to be growing out of it…"

"Rumiko, you have to let her make her own decisions. She's obviously had a rough day so let it rest for now. Perhaps tomorrow, you can broach the subject again, but you have to stop pressing so hard. I know you want her to be like you, but that may not be what she wants."

"I just want her to be happy, mom. I don't want her to miss out."

"She's a very unique person, Rumiko. You need to let her cruise her own path. If you do that, I think you'll find her coming to you for guidance much more often."

"I hope you're right. Do you really think I can get her to agree to go to that dance?"

"Perhaps, dear. Just be willing to defer to what she wants. She isn't refusing to go just to spite you. Find out why she doesn't want to go, and then maybe you'll convince her."

"She'll need someone to go with, too," Rumiko continues. "and that boy, Takato, seems so sweet, walking her home today…"

"They might just be friends, dear," Seiko answers with a light and brief laugh. "Don't try to push things."

"Oh, alright. I'll talk to her tomorrow about it."

* * *

Takato enters his parents' bakery, via the backdoor, as quietly as he can and makes his way to the steps. As he removes his shoes and begins to walk up, his mother suddenly calls out, "Takato, I know thats you. Get in here, please." Takato sags his shoulders, releases a sigh, and heads towards the kitchen, where he finds his mother cleaning up. "Would you go out to the front, bring the old bread back, and put it with the day old and day old day old bread? Guilmon can have whatever bread is currently back here in those baskets."

"Yay, bread!" Guilmon cheers from behind, pushing through and nearly knocking Takato over as he rushes for the basket and begins gluttonously consuming its contents. Takato does as his mother asks, heading out front with an empty basket and putting some of the older loaves still on the shelf inside it. His father is currently finishing with a customer, who Takato recognizes as:

"Hi, Ms. Ootori," Takato greets the red haired woman as he begins going about his work.

"Oh, hello Mr. Matsuki. I don't think I've ever seen you back here this early."

"Yea, well, we kinda got into a scrap with a wild one and it got away, so we figured we'd call an early day and start bright and early with looking for it…"

"A Wild One?" Ms. Ootori responds, as if surprised. "I just came from Hypnos. We didn't detect any bio-emergences."

"Well technically, we didn't either," Takato answers, still gathering bread. "Nothing came up on our devices but Guilmon picked up his scent and so we went after it."

"That's a bit disturbing," Ms. Ootori posits while pulling out her phone. "I'm going to have to inform Yamaki. He's not going to like it."

"Will that be all, Ms. Ootori?" Takato's dad asks as he hands off a bag of bread. "Yep, that's all," she says as she places the phone to her ear. "Mind giving us a call tomorrow if you have any updates?" she asks, looking back at Takato.

"Uhh, sure," the boy answers before the woman exits the storefront.

"So, a Wild One appeared today?" Takato's dad asks as he counts the cash from the register.

"Uh, yea. It went after Rika and Renamon and it looks like it took her digivice, so we have to find it tomorrow."

"I see," Mr. Matsuki replies. "How early exactly are you intent on heading out?"

"I don't know…" Takato responds. "Early…I guess… Being as Rika's without her digivice, I wanna try to get over there and walk with her to the park in case that digimon appears again."

"Oh, so you're getting up early to cross town and then re-cross town to get to the park? It doesn't make more sense to ask Henry to do that? He lives a lot closer to her than you…"

"I'm ok with doing it!" Takato answers, a little too quickly and enthusiastically, causing his father to let out a mild laugh. "I never thought you'd willingly get up early for anything, but it seems a girl is the exception…"

"Dad!" Takato shouts, red beginning to tinge his cheeks. "It's not like that! We're just friends!"

"Alright, alright. I believe you," Mr. Matsuki says with another laugh. "Go do some homework. I'll call you down when dinner is ready. "I'm guessing you want it earlier than usual given your schedule for tomorrow…"

"Thanks dad!" Takato says, running to the back before he could continue any part of the discussion. He drops the bread in the stock room, grabs two rolls for himself and dashes up the stairs, Guilmon swallowing the bread he had in his mouth and following.

As he enters his room, he tosses his cards and d-ark down on the desk and sits down, opening his sketchbook and continuing the drawing he had been working on. His artistic style had greatly improved and, upon finishing, admired his handiwork: an image of a familiar red haired girl. Takato smiles and begins flipping back in his book, past images of Henry and Terriermon, Suzie, Impmon, Ryo, Kenta, Kazu and Guardromon, Jeri, and Guilmon.

One page was missing: an image of Leomon that he had decided to give to Jeri. He smiles slightly as he recalls the day he gave it to her; he had thought she had liked him, especially after the D-Reaper incident, and felt strongly that he liked her, but she pointed out to him her thoughts on where his feelings truly lied, and he had come to realize she was right. He once again flips to the now completed image of Rika, the form of Renamon discernable in the background.

After a short time, his smile melts to a frown and he puts his head down on the desk. _I'm hopeless. I've gotta stop falling for girls way out of my league._ He sits up after a few moments and turns back in his book once more, this time stopping at the image of Ryo.

 _"Rika doesn't like anybody dude,"_ he remembers Kazu saying.

 _"Well, one of these days, I think I'll get her to give me a chance,"_ he remembers Ryo answering confidently.

 _I mean, if she was going to be with somebody, how am I supposed to compete with the Digimon King himself?_

"What are you thinking about, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks, jolting him from his revelry and causing him to knock the book off his desk. "Oh. Nothing, boy," he responds, picking up the book, closing it, and placing it back on his desk.

"Well, you looked like you were thinking really hard." Takato gives his partner a smile and a pat. "Pretty hard to pull one over on you, boy." He turns back to his desk and pulls a fresh sheet of paper out from a folder, beginning to sketch a new image while munching on one of the rolls.

"Can I have the other one Takato?" Guilmon asks innocently. Takato nearly chokes from laughing and, after swallowing, replies, "Yea, here. Take it," and presents the other roll to his partner.

* * *

As night falls, Mistymon remains hidden atop the roof of a building, eyes closed as if meditating. _Finding her is like looking for a needle in a haystack. How can so many humans live so packed on top of one another?_

He opens his eyes and scans out over the city. _Searching is useless. I'll have to wait until they try to find me again. Only problem is dealing with those other tamers and their partners. I can easily fight them one to one, but I can't handle them all at once. If I could just pick them off, one at a time, the Digimon Queen would be mine…_

He holds up his crystal ball, inspected the device still floating within. _This device is what connects a digimon to a human. At least as long as I have this, that fox can't connect with her. I'll be your partner soon enough my Queen…_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 3

"Guilmon! Stop! It's just a butterfly! Just leave it alone!" Takato shouts as he runs after his partner. Guilmon obviously hadn't heard him as he bolts through the alley, the butterfly fluttering in front of him, as if unaware of the red creature following it.

The butterfly flutters up somewhat, but not so far as to fly away, as it exits the alleyway and floats along the outer wall of Rika's yard, eventually landing on the door. Guilmon tries to pull himself to a halt, but stumbles, tumbling headfirst forward and slamming into the door, causing the butterfly to fly away.

His partner finally halted, Takato stops, bending over and grabbing his kneecaps as he tries to catch his breath. "Ngh," he groans, still breathing heavily. "I really gotta get in shape…"

"Aww, it went bye-bye Takatomon," Guilmon whines with displeasure.

"I'm not sure I can blame it, boy. You can't just go rushing after things." Guilmon cocks his head at his tamer, but before being able to answer, the gate swings open, Seiko peaking out to see who had knocked.

"Sorry, Ms. Hata," Takato says, making a slight bow of apology. "Guilmon was chasing a butterfly and he kind of just…"

"Oh, it's you, Takato," Seiko says with a smile, opening the gate wider. "I suppose you're looking for Rika."

"Uhh, yes, ma'am" Takato says with a nod. "I'm sorry if we disturbed you. We were just going to wait until…"

"Oh, nonsense," Seiko interrupts once again. "I was just doing some morning gardening. I believe Rika may still be sleeping, but she should be up soon. Please, come in. I'll make you some tea or juice."

"Oh, that's alright, Ms. Hata. I…"

"Do you have peanut butter?" Guilmon asks excitedly.

"Would you like some peanut butter Guilmon?" Seiko asks, still smiling.

"Ye…!" Guilmon tries to cheer but Takato grabs his snout. "We don't wanna impose like that, Ms. Hata."

"No imposition at all, Takato. Come on." She turns and begins walking back into the yard, Guilmon pulling away from his tamer to follow her. Takato sighs, lets out a light chuckle beneath his breath and enters, closing the gate behind him.

They enter the house and walk to the kitchen, Seiko already pouring a glass of juice and starting to brew tea. "Aren't you all supposed to be meeting at the park?" she asks as she goes to pull out a jar of peanut butter and some bread. "We're a bit out of your way if that's where you need to go."

"Oh, yea. I just figured since that digimon we fought yesterday still has Rika's digivice that I should walk with her, in case it comes after her again." Seiko turns a kindly look in his direction and he blushes and fumbles over words before adding, "Not that Renamon and her couldn't handle it if he did show up, hehe."

"Well I think it's very considerate of you to look out for Rika's safety, Takato," she responds simply, placing a plate with peanut-buttered bread on the floor for Guilmon, who gobbles it up immediately. She hands Takato the glass of juice, which he accepts after some hesitation and a slight bow of thanks.

As he raises the drink to his lip, he is startled by the sudden entry of Rumiko, who practically shouts, "Mother, which dress do you think is best? The lavender or the teal?" Takato coughs and drops the glass, causing it to shatter on the floor and spill its contents.

"I'm sorry!" Takato exclaims, jumping up to try to clean up the pieces.

"I'll get it, dear," Seiko insists moving to grab a cloth and a broom.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Rumiko dramatically espouses. "Did I startle you?"

"Just a little bit," Guilmon answers, drawing pained look from his tamer. "Guilmon…" he whispers.

"Mother, why didn't you tell me Takato had stopped by?" the woman asks, removing her attention from the two of them.

"Well he only just got here, dear, and he's here for Rika, not you," Seiko responds, the slightest hints of sarcasm buried in her tone.

"Oh, did you come to escort her to the park?" she asks in an endearing tone, causing Takato to blush slightly but nod, rather than risk a response in words.

"I don't recall asking for an escort." The four occupants of the kitchen at last notice Rika, standing in the hallway's entry, arms crossed with Renamon standing behind her. "What are you doing here, Gogglehead? I said I'd meet you and the others in the park."

"I just figured…"

"You figured wrong. Get going! I'll meet you there."

"Rika, that is not the proper way to treat one of your friends," Rumiko scolds. Rika's temper seems to simmer, but she turns her head away, a scowl still firmly planted on it. "Fine. Are you coming, Goggles?"

"Uhhh…." Takato mumbles, as if unsure of what to do.

"Wait, Rika. Before you left I wanted to talk to you one more time about that dance tomorrow," Rumiko interjects. This quickly gets Takato's attention.

"I said I'm not going," Rika responds firmly. "I don't have time to stand here and argue the point with you."

"Rika, sweetie," Seiko steps in, "I was making some tea for myself and Takato anyway. Why don't you talk to your mother for a couple minutes until its finished and, once he's done with his tea, you can both go?" Rika appears to flash an annoyed look at her grandmother, but shows no other signs of negativity, uncrossing her arms and responding, "Fine. You better drink fast, Gogglebrain."

"We'll take it out to the yard, so come outside when you're done, alright?" Seiko adds, grabbing the kettle and pouring two cups before gesturing for Takato to follow. Takato glances one more time at Rika before following Seiko, Guilmon loping off after him.

"I don't want to go, mom," Rika leads off with.

"Rika, I know it's not something you'd usually do, but you might have fun."

"There's nothing I want to do there nor anyone I want to see," Rika answers firmly, looking towards Renamon for support but receiving none.

"You could at least think about it," Rumiko responds with some frustration. "I've already picked out a dress and…"

"What part of nothing and no one is confusing? I don't want to go to that dance!"

"Well, you could take one of your friends to the dance," Rumiko suggests. "I'll bet Takato would be willing to go with you."

"Gross!" Rika shouts with disgust, causing Rumiko to lower her head in exasperation.

Rika, I just don't understand you. Why are you so resistant to doing things like this?"

"Because I'm not some doll for other people to look at!" Rika responds callously. "I don't want to be like those other girls in my class. I'm a tamer and that's all I want to be right now!"

Rumiko sighs and stands, crossing the kitchen, as if leaving. Before exiting the room, however, she turns back and says, "I'm trying to connect with you Rika, but you won't meet me half way. The dance isn't until tomorrow, if you change your mind." She leaves without stating anything further.

* * *

Takato sips his tea as he sits on a stoop, watching Seiko pull weeds from her garden, Guilmon sniffing at his cup, as if hoping to get a whiff or a sip for himself. Takato eventually offers him the cup, granting him a sip, which he seems to savor: his long tongue whipping out and smacking his lips. "That's really good, Takatomon," he states cheerily.

"I'm glad you like it, Guilmon. I'll make you your own cup the next time you're over here," Seiko says, not taking her attention off her flowers for the slightest moment.

"Hey! Gogglehead! Are you done yet?" Takato quickly looks over, noticing Rika had exited the house, and jumps up from his seat. "Uhhh, yea! Ready to go," he shouts back.

"You can leave the cup on the stoop dear," Seiko directs. "Have a nice day, and thank you for stopping by."

"Yes. Thank you, Ms. Hata," Takato says with a minor bow, Guilmon mimicking his tamer's motions, before they both move to follow Rika out the gate.

The three walk in silence for a few moments, Renamon jumping from roof to roof and post to post above them before Takato speaks up; "Renamon looks like she's recovered from her battle."

"What, you didn't think she could without me swiping cards?" Rika asks, her tone clearly irate.

"Umm… no… of course not… Renamon's tough. I know that," Takato responds, hanging his head slightly. Rika releases a sigh before adding, "Thanks for your concern. I know I don't act like it, but it was nice of you to come get me."

"Oh?" Takato asks, lightening up.

"But don't ever show up at my house uninvited again," she adds firmly, directing a glare right to his eyes.

"I'll remember," Takato says, placing a hand behind his head and giving a small grin.

"Rika sounds really cranky, Takatomon," Guilmon says aloud, drawing a look of alarm from his tamer and one of fury from Rika.

"It was hard for Rika to sleep," Renamon interjects, appearing behind them and falling into step with them before Rika can 'blow a gasket'. "Not having her digivice…"

"Renamon, I believe that is my business," Rika states fiercely. "Of course. My apologies." Renamon says, vanishing soon after.

"Was it because of that digimon?" Takato asks. "You know we won't let him hurt you right? We stopped IceDevimon when he went after you and we'll stop this guy too."

"Hmph. Great… My hero…" Takato blushes slightly at this, despite its clear sarcasm, and turns his attention forward, trying his best to hide the sudden flush of color entering his face.

"So…umm…your school is having a dance tomorrow?" That proved the wrong thing to bring up, as Rika's form stiffens and she ceases to walk.

"Rika?" Guilmon asks curiously, oblivious to the tension building in the girls form. "What of it, Gogglebrain? You going to pester me about going to?" Takato stumbles over some words, tying to think clearly of an answer that wouldn't end with him on the ground. "Wahh…umm…that is… I just thought it sounded cool and like a lot of fun…? I mean, my school doesn't do anything like that, and…"

"So because you think it sounds fun, I should go and take you with me?"

"Huh? Uhh…no… No, I…I didn't mean…"

"I'm not going, and there's nothing you, my mom, or anyone else can say to convince me to go! I'm a little busy trying to get back my d-ark!" The girl pushes ahead, leaving a slightly confused and sullen Takato to slowly tread behind her.

They round a corner and begin crossing the better part of town on their way to the park. Guilmon seems to adopt his tamer's demeanor, hunching slightly and drooping his ears and keeping a slight distance back, though not once taking his eyes off the goggled boy. As Renamon phases in next to him, he asks, "Why is Rika being so mean and Takatomon so sad, Renamon?"

"I'm not sure," Renamon answers. "I believe the topic of this dance is a sensitive one for Rika."

"What's a dance, Renamon?" the red saurian asks with innocent curiosity.

"As I understand it, it is a ritual of humans where they move in rhythm to music, sometimes with a partner."

"Oh. Well, why doesn't Rika like that?"

"I am not sure."

Is Rika afraid of dance?"

"Rika doesn't fear anything," Renamon responds in kind, maintaining a patient tone.

"Oh. Ok. What about Takatomon? Can he dance?"

"I don't see why not."

"Do you think he wants to?"

"I do not know."

"Do you think Takatomon wants to be Rika's partner?" The kitsune does not answer, instead looking up and scrutinizing the somewhat still sullen tamer. "Renamon?" Guilmon inquires once again. As she turns to answer him, both suddenly feel an odd warmth. Renamon's fur stands on end as Guilmon crouches low and begins to growl, drawing their tamers' attention.

"Mistymon! He must be nearby!" Rika yells. "What are you waiting for, Gogglehead? Check your d-ark!" Takato pulls out his digivice and activates the compass function, the arrow eventually stopping. "That way!" Takato yells as he points. They charge down the alleyways, winding left, right, left, left, right, left, right, and right, passing lot, after alley, after lot, after alley. As Takato makes one more left, he slams into someone and falls backward.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the familiar voice of Terriermon grumbles. Rika reaches Takato's side, noticing Henry sitting on the floor, rubbing his head while Impmon, Jeri, and Calumon laugh behind them.

"Sorry, Henry," Takato says, returning to his feet and offering his friend a hand to pull him up. Henry grasps it and allows Takato to pull him up before saying, "My bad actually. I thought I picked up Mistymon's signal and I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"We picked it up too," Rika informs the boy, thereafter beginning to scan the area.

"Fancy seeing you all here!" another voice rings out. The easily discernable form of Cyberdramon lands near them, a brown-haired teen dismounting from him.

"Right behind you, Ryo man!" the voice of Kazu shouts aloud as he, Guardromon, Kenta, and MarineAngemon land as well.

"Who invited you, Mr. Perfect?" Rika asks, crossing her arms.

"Well, pumpkin: I heard my queen might need some help retrieving her digivice," he states flirtatiously, drawing only a scowl from the subject of his phrase.

"Well, we all traced Mistymon here, so where is he?" Henry asks. Guilmon sniffs about and frowns before announcing, "I can't smell him anymore.

"I also do not sense him," Renamon adds in support of the red saurian.

"Sounds like we'll need to split up and look," Kazu suggests.

"Split up and look," Guardromon repeats with a nod.

"Alright. Would her majesty like her king to accompany her?" Ryo teases.

"In your dreams, Lameo," Rika responds starkly.

"I'll team up with you!" Kazu volunteers, resulting in a face-palm on Ryo's part.

"Alright. You, Ryo, and Kenta can check the alleys and streets out that way," Henry suggests, pointing to one of the three alleys that enter the lot.

"Impmon, Calumon, and I could go with Rika and walk this way," Jeri says as she points back the way she and Henry had come.

"Alright. I guess you're with us, Takato," Henry says, giving a thumbs up to his friend.

"Won't Mistymon go after Rika?" Takato asks, concern clear. "Should we really split up?"

"It's the only way we're going to cover ground and find this guy," Ryo interjects, giving the goggled tamer a wink. "Unless you've got a better idea."

Takato places a hand to his chin, but Rika speaks up before he can think of anything: "Renamon and I can handle ourselves just fine. We'll signal if he finds us before we find him. Think you clowns can handle that?"

Henry shrugs in Takato's direction before looking at her and saying, "Shouldn't be too hard. Should we plan to meet up somewhere if the search proves fruitless?"

"We can meet at the hut after a couple hours," Kenta suggests, to which MarineAngemon chirps up in agreement.

Takato disguises his disappointment behind a smile and nods. "Alright. We'll say three hours at Guilmon's hut. Be careful." He glances at Jeri as he says the last part, purposely keeping his eyes from meeting Rika's.

As the children split up, a pleased Mistymon calmly stalks along the rooftops in the direction Jeri, Rika, Calumon, Renamon, and Impmon had gone, careful to keep back enough such that Renamon would not notice his stalking. _Much more manageable. I'll wait until she's far enough away from the others and then I'll swoop in and take my tamer. Check, tamers: soon to be mate…"_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 4

Impmon hops along the rooftops above, desperately trying to keep up with Renamon, and clearly not proving up to the task. Despite this, Calumon still cheers for the diminutive purple digimon, floating along behind them while their two human friends walk the alleyway below, soon letting out onto a quiet side street.

"Do you really think he'll come after us now that we've split from the others?" Jeri inquires as Rika keeps pace in front of her.

"Nearly completely certain. When that creepy IceDevimon tried to make me his tamer, he only came after me when I was alone. I'll be one step ahead this time."

"Why would he want you to be his tamer if you already have Renamon?" Jeri asks, trying to keep the conversation going.

"How should I know?" Rika responds, a bit more callously than she meant. "Sorry… This is just really…"

"Stressful? I understand," Jeri interjects. "Without your digivice, you can't help Renamon fight and you don't want her to get hurt because of you."

Rika sighs before answering, "…Yea…"

"You know, we are really all here to help you. Me, Takato, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, and even Ryo. Even if you don't let us, we're going to keep trying to help. Especially Takato: he never knows when to quit."

"He's persistent, I'll give him that…" Rika counters.

They press on for short while longer before Jeri wonders aloud, "I wonder when he's going to come out. I'm not even sure he's anywhere near us."

"I regret that I do not sense him either," Renamon admits, phasing into step with the two girls.

"Well when he does show his face, I'ma bada-boom him right upside the head," Impmon boasts, hopping down from above and joining the walk. Calumon laughs as he descends and lands upon Jeri's head. "You're just jealous because you lost your race against Renamon!" he says jovially.

"No I'm not!" Impmon insists. "I let her win. I didn't wanna beat her."

"Sure you didn't," Jeri joins in on the tease. "Why else would you try to speak with such machismo?"

"Because I happen to be a gentleman, toots," Impmon responds with a sly, toothy grin, drawing laughs from both Jeri and Calumon.

"Can we focus on finding my digivice, please?" Rika asks, allowing some annoyance to bleed through in her voice.

"Aww, come on, Rika. You have to try to laugh a bit," Jeri insists with the sincerest of smiles.

"Yea!" Calumon cheers, leaping from Jeri's head and gliding over to land on Rika's face. "You have to be…HAPPY!"

"How am I supposed to be happy at a time like this?" Rika asks, pulling the little white digimon off of her and settling him in her arms.

"Well, try to be optimistic," Jeri suggests as they push forward. "Think about how good you'll feel once you defeat Mistymon and get your digivice back."

"I will feel good once Renamon's torn that guy limb from limb, but that doesn't help me right now," she responds with the slightest of huffs.

"Well, we're all helping you look for him, aren't we?" Calumon asks. "Doesn't that make you happy."

"Yes, of course it does… but…"

"But what?" Jeri asks.

"Never mind. Just forget it."

"Aww, come on. Don't leave us hanging!" Impmon groans aloud as he crosses his arms.

"Rika is still conflicted regarding an argument she had with her mother," Renamon explains, drawing an angered look from her tamer. "Renamon!"

"They only want to help, Rika," Renamon speaks in a soft tone.

"Oh I get it," Jeri says, adopting a more sympathetic look. "Is something going on with your mom that's stressing you out too? What were you arguing about? You can tell me."

"Just some stupid dance at my school tomorrow," Rika says, turning her gaze upward and forward, away from Jeri's scrutinizing gaze. "I've already told her I'm not going…"

"Why not?" Jeri asks, as if perplexed. "Why wouldn't you want to go to a dance at your school with your friends?"

"Those girls are not my friends and I don't do dances!" Rika insists.

"Well a dance sounds like a good way to lift your spirits," Jeri suggests. "I would consider going if I were you."

"Well you're not me," Rika responds, albeit more forcefully than she meant. "Besides, I can't just show up alone. I've had enough of those girls mocking me and if I end up punching one on school property, then I'll be in much more serious waters."

"So take someone with you," Jeri suggests. "I'm sure any of the guys would agree to go with you if you asked."

"Like I'd ask any of those bozos…" Rika replies, causing Jeri to release an exasperated sigh. "So you won't go, huh?"

Rika stops and turns to face Jeri. Her face seems neutral as she speaks, "Look, right now I'd rather focus on getting my digivice back. I don't see much a point in putting on some frilly dress and going to some stupid dance."

"Because it would be fun," Jeri answers. "Don't you ever just want to have fun?"

"Dresses and dances aren't my thing…"

"Well, I can't really say anything to make you go, but I would really think about it if I were you. You really sound like you could use a night off to just have fun." Rika lets out a sigh before turning around. Before she continues to walk, she mutters, just loud enough for Jeri to hear, "I guess I'll think about it…" Jeri starts to smile as Rika finishes, "But after I get back my digivice."

"That sounds fair to me," Jeri responds with enthusiasm, causing Calumon to cheer from Rika's arms and Impmon to turn a bored scowl away from them. "Eh, dance-schmance. You humans are so confusing. Trying to keep up with ya'll makes my head twitch."

"That's 'cause you need to be less grouchy and have some fun too!" Calumon chimes in, leaping from Rika's arms and landing in front of Impmon while flashing a bright and wide smile. Impmon rolls his eyes before responding, "Hey, I know fun, Creampuff. My tamers are the most fun there is!"

"I'll bet they are…" Renamon coos in a mocking tone, a smile hidden beneath the fur of her muzzle.

"I'm definitely more fun than you, Fox…" he starts before his tail stiffens and eyes widen.

"Hey! Why'd it got so hot all of a sudden?" Calumon groans, as he frowns and allows his ears to droop down from his head.

"He's close-by…" Renamon replies, tensing as her hair stands on end.

"Not the best welcome, but I suppose you're reactions will suffice for my entry…"

Rika and Jeri look up to a nearby roof where the imposing form of Mistymon stands, sword held at his side, with the slyest of grins plastered on his face. "Ready for round two, my tamer?"

* * *

Guilmon sniffs around the corner of the alley as he leads Henry, Takato, and Terriermon out onto a moderately busy city street. "Smell anything yet, boy?" Takato asks.

"Nope. Sorry, Takatomon," Guilmon replies, giving his tamer a frown.

"Keep going boy. We gotta find him." Guilmon does as he is told and continues to lead them on, allowing his nose to test the air as they move.

"You're pretty antsy about finding this guy. What's in it for you?" Terriermon teases, causing Henry to rack his knuckles over the digimon's head and utter his typical warning: "Terriermon…"

"What? It's not like it's a secret that Takato has the hots for Rika." Takato blushes profusely and turns away, doing his best to hide it. "See what I mean!" Terriermon quips, hopping over to Takato's shoulder. "Hopeless romantic!"

"Come on, Terriermon. Who Takato likes is his business," Henry insists, gesturing for Terriermon to return to his shoulder. The long-eared rookie does not comply, however, and instead switches himself to Takato's other shoulder. "So when exactly did her icy heart stop being repulsive for you?"

"Terriermon…" Henry grumbles. "Get over here. Now."

"Aww, come on Henry! I'm just having a little fun! Momentai!"

"Well you're bothering Takato," Henry insists.

"I am not!" Terriermon claims, feigning insult. "You know I'm just joking with ya, don't ya, Takato?" Takato bites his lip, trying to think of the best response to give, but doesn't manage to come up with anything and instead lets his head hang in hopeless defeat.

"Terriermon…" Henry warns once again.

"Ok! Ok! I'll stop," Terriermon assures. "As soon as he answers my question."

"Terriermon!"

"It's ok, Henry," Takato says, gathering up some of his courage. "It kind of started around Rika's birthday. I didn't realize I'd made it so obvious…"

"See, Henry!" Terriermon adds with a sly look toward his tamer. "He doesn't mind talking about it."

"You're just lucky Takato is used to your lack of tact," Henry replies before allowing his frown to switch to a smile. "So, you started liking her around the time those Parasimon showed up?"

"Typical Gogglehead," Terriermon chimes in. "Falls in love with the girl who tries to kill him."

"That wasn't her fault," Takato speaks up in Rika's defense. "Besides… it was really more around the time afterward...at the party. I almost went to speak to her, but Renamon stopped me. She told me Rika was kind of emotional at the time and I just remember not being able to wrap my head around the idea of Rika…well…"

"Feeling?" Terriermon quips, drawing an irked look from the goggled tamer.

"I'll admit, Rika is complex," Henry responds with a shrug.

"It's not that, though Henry," Takato adds. "It's that now I know that there's something that bothers her and she just bottles up all her emotion. I guess I kinda just found myself wondering about her and before I knew it…"

"You developed feelings for her," Henry states with a nod, showing his understanding. "Question is what are you going to do about it."

"Huh?" Takato asks.

"Well, I'm going to take a guess here and say you haven't told her how you feel." Takato looks away and shrugs. "I'm not sure I should. This is Rika we're talking about. I feel like there's a fifty percent chance she throttles me and another fifty percent chance she kills me, then throttles me."

"Yea. You're either braver than most or more foolish than most," Terriermon continues to chide. "Maybe Rika's right: those goggles must keep the oxygen from your brain."

"Terriermon… Be nice," Henry rebukes the rookie.

"It's ok, Henry. I know it's dumb. I mean, Rika and me… I know it'll probably never happen…"

"I think the most shocking part is it's not Jeri," Henry says with a mild laugh. Kazu and me had a bet going. I guess I'm going to owe him three cards…"

"Wait…you bet…?" Takato starts, his tone suggesting a mix of insult, surprise, and confusion.

"You're really that surprised?" Terriermon interrupts him. "He thinks he knows everything!"

"I only bet that you would ask her out before we got to high school!" Henry responds defensively and with a placating gesture. "Neither of us guessed that you would go for someone else entirely."

Takato stares blankly for a moment, as if processing the information, before his lips curve slowly into a smile and he lets out a mild laugh. "I guess I have to admit I'm not good at getting around to asking people I like out."

"There's what I like about you! Always good for a laugh, even if it's at your expense!" Terriermon quips, hopping up to Takato's head and ruffling his hair.

"What's so funny?" Guilmon asks, having ceased his sniffing upon hearing his tamer's laugh.

"I'll tell you when you're older!" Terriermon responds through giggles before jumping to the saurian's back.

Henry shakes his head as he pulls out his d-ark, checking the compass function before returning it to his pocket. "Well, nothing here. Should we try heading further uptown? We got a good couple hours before we're supposed to be in the park."

"Can we go for ice cream, Takatomon?"

"Now might not be the best time for that, boy," Takato responds severely. "We gotta keep looking for Mistymon so we can get back Rika's digivice. You wanna help Rika and Renamon, don't you?"

"Of course, Takatomon. But why can't we help Renamon and get ice cream?" Takato hangs his head in exasperation.

"Because buying ice cream in a crisis will really hurt his chances of putting the moves on our local Ice Queen," Terriermon explains with a grin, only further confusing the red saurian digimon. "Moves? Do you mean Rika's dance?"

"Guilmon!" Takato shouts in alarm, but it was far too late. "A DANCE!?" Terriermon squeals with delight, causing Takato to face palm.

"Rika has a dance?" Henry asks, as if perplexed and unbelieving.

"Yea. Tomorrow night at her school," Takato answers. "She doesn't want to go, though, so I was thinking if I got back her digivice…"

"Whoa! I didn't know our fearless goggled mascot already had a plan to put the moves on the Ice Queen! You gotta give me the deets, Takato!"

"Terriermon, just give it a rest for a little, won't you?" Henry sighs, clearly reaching the limit of his tolerance for his partner's antics.

"Aww, come one Henry! Momentai! I'm just kidding around."

"I think you're the one who needs to momentai," Henry says while crossing his arms.

"Yea. Leave Takatomon alone. Momren…momern…Mom-mer-ai!" Guilmon forces out, trying to echo Henry and clearly failing, resulting in only a rolling and laughing Terriermon.

Henry again shakes his head, deciding to simply turn his attention to ever more flustered friend. "Apparently you're more serious than I thought." Takato allows his gaze to sink, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"You know I won't tell anyone. And neither will Terriermon. Isn't that right?" Terriermon tries to pause his laughing and rolling enough to quip, "Cross my heart…hehe…and hope…hehe…to die! Hahahahaha!"

"Well, I'm glad someone finds this whole thing hilarious…" Takato mumbles, trying to force a smile and laugh himself.

"Well, we should get back to patrol," Henry suggests. "And if you ever wanna talk about it, you can talk to me. I'll even keep Terriermon out of it."

"No! Please don't, Henry! I need this!" Terriermon insists. He continues his laughing, but is soon stopped as Guilmon's tail strikes his back, knocking him over.

"Sheesh, Guilmon. I was just having a laugh! You don't have to be such a stiff," Terriermon quips, pushing himself back up, but Guilmon obviously hadn't heard him as he taken on a crouching position and was growling lightly as he stared in the direction of downtown. "I smell him, Takatomon."

Looking upward, both Henry and Takato see a plume of smoke billow up from between the buildings and dissipate. "Looks like he went after Rika again," Henry announces, pulling out his d-ark.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Takato asks. "We gotta help her!"

"I'm ready to rescue Takato's distressing damsel!" Terriermon jabs one last time. "Juice me up, Henry!"

"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

 _Matrix Digivolution…_

 _Terriermon digivolve to… Gargomon!_

 _Gargomon digivolve to… Rapidmon!_

Rapidmon snatches up Guilmon, Takato, and Henry and immediately jets off in the direction of the smoke.

* * *

"Diamond Storm!"

"Bada-Boom!"

Both Renamon and Impmon toss their attacks, but neither so much as faze the chuckling Mistymon. "Come now. I know you can do better than that."

 _Impmon warp digivolve to… Beelzemon!_

 _Beelzemon mode change to… Blast Mode!_

"Alright, bub. You asked for it. Corona Blaster!" Beelzemon fires and, to the shock of all present, Mistymon swings his flaming sword and manages to deflect the attack away.

"Power Paw!" Renamon leaps forth into a flying kick, but the blow hardly fazes Mistymon, who merely grabs her by the leg, swings her around and tosses her back down. She slams into a pile of garbage bags and slides prone on the sidewalk near her tamer.

"Renamon!" Rika shouts with alarm, calming slightly as she notices Renamon twitch and begin to stand once more.

"Still haven't learned how to treat a lady, huh, bub?" Beelzemon shouts with a scowl as he dissipates his cannon. "Well I got your lesson right here! Darkness Claw!" Beelzemon flaps his wings and shoots forward. Mistymon parries one strike of his opponent's claws, but Beelzemon follows up with a swipe of the other, raking across Mistymon's chest plate and forcing him to stagger back.

"The Digimon Queen is my pathway to ultimate power!" he taunts as he brings his sword to bear. "No one, not even a demon lord, will stand in my way! Blast Fire!" The flames flow forth rapidly and Beelzemon is too close to dodge, instead covering his eyes with his arms to best protect himself. As the flames abate, Beelzemon curses to himself, as Mistymon had vanished from his position.

"Beelzemon, look out! He's above you!" Calumon squeals.

"Core Dart!" Mistymon dives, becoming like a meteor ready to smash his victim. Beelzemon flaps his wings and moves back quickly, easily dodging the blow.

"Nice try! Double Impact!" With great speed and expertise, he pulls a shotgun out and fires, its bullet slamming into the mystic knight and sending him plummeting to the street below. As he stands, preparing himself to resume his struggle, he is suddenly struck from the side by Renamon's, "Power Paw!" He does his best to roll with the blow and swings his blade round, managing to strike Renamon with the broad, blunt side of his blade and knock the kitsune off her feet once more.

Beelzemon leaps down, and aims his shotgun once more, but Mistymon moves quickly in the girls' direction, grabbing Rika and pulling her in front of him. "My Queen! Make me stronger!" he demands in fierce tone as Rika struggles to pull her arm from his grip.

"Let go of me! I'm not your tamer and I never will be!"

"I'd let the little lady go," Beelzemon insists, keeping his shotgun aimed. "You got no where to run!"

"Shoot, if you dare, demon lord!" he taunts, tightening his grip on the girl's arm to ensure she doesn't move and expose him.

"Hey, you let Rika go!" Calumon demands, flitting about the knight's head. His antics prove little more than that of a gnat's, as Mistymon easily slaps the little white digimon away.

"Let Rika go now! " Renamon orders, eliciting only an amused chuckle from Mistymon.

"Renamon! Attack him! Now!" Rika orders but Renamon hesitates, unable to find an opening where she wouldn't risk hurting Rika.

"Come now, my Queen," Mistymon chides. "There is no need to resist me. I am strong and you will make me invincible. Isn't that what you want? To be the strongest?"

Beelzemon shifts his aim slightly, but Mistymon shifts as well, ensuring the demon lord has no clear shot.

"Who's lacking in chivalry now, bub?" Beelzemon growls with contempt. "Decided you can't fight me, mon to mon?"

"Please stop resisting me, my Queen," he requests, obviously ignoring the demon lord, "Come with me. Be my partner! Make me stronger!"

"Get real!" Rika shouts at him. "Let me go and go crawl back into whatever hole you came out of!" Renamon tenses further, showing a readiness to resume the fight the moment she can get a shot.

"Let her go, bub…" Beelzemon warns once more, tightening his grip on his shotgun, ready to fire. "You're already outnumbered and outmatched!"

"Am I, now?" Mistymon croons, his sword beginning to flare in his hands.

"Hurt Rika, and you'll regret it!" Beelzemon warns, a grunt of agreement coming from Renamon.

"Hurt my dear queen? I wouldn't dream of it, 'bub'" Mistymon taunts before adopting a more sober look and gazing into Rika's eyes. "It seems the only way I shall win your favor is by besting your champions," he croons. "So be it. I suppose that seems the more appropriate path. I will prove myself to you!" He returns his gaze to Beelzemon, hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. "Core Dart!" Mistymon tosses his blade at the demon lord, sending it flying forward at incredible speed. Beelzemon attempts to dodge, but the blade strikes his side and clips one of his wings, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Renamon wastes no time: she phases forward while he is distracted and delivers a kick to his arm, forcing him to release Rika. Grabbing her tamer, she rolls back to the ground. Mistymon almost seems not to care that his queen had escaped his grip and rushes toward the recovering Beelzemon, retrieving his blade and lifting the demon lord by the throat. "I suppose I'll dispose of you first…" he says with a sly smile.

"Not today, Fire-fool! Rapid Fire!" Mistymon tosses Beelzemon away and phases to safety just as Rapidmon's missiles detonate on his previous position. _No! It seems I'm out of time once more…_

"Digi-Modify! Hyper Wings activate!"

"Pyro Sphere!" Mistymon is struck by Guilmon's attack and turns in time to notice both Takato and Henry on the roof across from him and a winged red dino rushing him. Guilmon's approach proves too quick, and he slams his head right into Mistymon's stomach, staggering him and forcing him to drop his crystalline ball. As the two digimon roll and tussle, the orb rolls to the end of the roof, lodging itself in one of the gutters.

"Gogglehead!" Rika shouts up. "The orb! Tell Guilmon to get it!"

"I'll get it!" Renamon insists.

"Guilmon….!" Takato shouts, trying to comply with Rika's demand.

"Move over, Guilmon! Tri-Beam!" Rapidmon unleashes another attack and Guilmon leaps away, allowing his wings to carry him for a time before they dissipate and send him plummeting to the street below.

As Renamon tries to jump up, Guilmon falls on top of her, disabling both of them.

"Oh that's just great, Goggles!" Rika screams in frustration. Henry! Get Rapidmon to grab it! Now!"

"Blast Fire!" Mistymon sends a plume of fire in Rapidmon's direction, but the speedy ultimate easily dodges. "You gotta be faster if you wanna barbecue me! Rapid Fire!"

"Rapidmon, grab the crystal ball!" Henry orders as Mistymon jumps to the side to avoid the missiles. "Blast Fire!" He sends another plume that forces Rapidmon to back off before moving forward to try to reclaim his contraband.

"Desolation Claw!"

"Guardian Barrage!"

Mistymon dodges away as both Cyberdramon and Guardromon touch down between him and the ball, Ryo dismounting and preparing for battle.

"Looks like we arrived just in the nick of time!" Kazu cheers as he and Kenta run up beside Takato and Henry.

"So you're the guy who stole from my pumpkin?" Ryo asks in a mocking tone, already brandishing cards and his own d-ark as Cyberdramon snarls next to him while Calumon floats up to take the crystal ball and glide back down.

Mistymon oddly seems to laugh, and replies, "I must confess I am impressed by the number of knights my Queen already has fighting for her." He pulls his blade up in front of himself, as if preparing to fight. "However, you are mere squires compared to me. In the end, I will win…"

Rika takes the orb from the little white digimon and struggles to break it open, slamming it on the wall behind her and tossing it down onto the hard asphalt, but to no avail. "It won't break!" Rika shouts, clearly flustered.

"Of course not, my Queen. Only I can retrieve it for you," Mistymon croons, though he does not remove his attention from his snarling opponent.

"Well then I'd open it, or I'm going to let Cyberdramon here off his leash," Ryo threatens, but Mistymon only chuckles at the thought. "Give it a try."

"Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

"Desolation Claw!"

"Core Dart!" Mistymon is too quick, jumping upward and flying forward, piercing through Cyberdramon's chest. Using the momentum, he pushes Cyberdramon off the roof and down to the ground below, using the dragonoid to cushion his own fall.

"Guardian Barrage!" Guardromon releases a salvo of his missiles, which seem to impact, but are revealed to have only struck Cyberdramon as the smoke clears.

"Rika shouts in surprise as she next realizes the crystal ball had vanished from her grip. "Where'd it go!?" she shouts with indignation.

"You'll get this back, my Queen, once you decide to be mine," the voice of Mistymon states from above. They look up, seeing the outline of the knight as he once again vanishes.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 5

Little is said as the tamers make their way to Guilmon's hut in the park. No one dared try to speak to Rika, lest risk her exploding on them for the botched recovery of her digivice. Rika clearly was not even trying to hide her frustration with the situation, and no one had to look further than the pained look on Renamon's muzzle to know how deep that said frustration must be. Not even Terriermon dared crack a joke.

As they reach the concrete steps up to the hut, Kazu finally breaks the silence, saying what everyone was thinking: "Well, that probably could have gone better."

"Oh you think?" Rika responds in a severely sarcastic tone.

"We'll get him," Henry speaks up calmly. "He's smart, but we'll find a way to outmaneuver him."

"Easy for you to say…" Rika grumbles turning her gaze away while her scowl deepens.

"Relax, pumpkin," Ryo says nonchalantly. "I'm not the kind of guy to take something like this lying down. I'll get your digivice back, even if it takes me all night."

"That's very thoughtful, Ryo," Jeri interjects with a smile, though Rika only rolls her eyes before setting a glare on the boy. "If you hadn't been so cocky, maybe we could have beaten him!"

"Hey! Don't take out your issues on Ryo!" Kazu shouts.

"Yea!" Kenta speaks up in agreement. "I didn't see you doing any better."

"I don't have my digivice, you dimwits!" Rika shouts in reply as Renamon too adopts a glare, directing it at them.

"Why is everybody yelling?" Calumon asks Jeri frightendly, causing the girl to only hug him closer and Impmon to release a bored, "hmph."

"Arguing about this isn't going to get us anywhere," Henry interjects, trying to calm the situation. "We can take one more patrol before…"

"Why, so you can all mess it up again?" Rika asks, directing her annoyance at him now. "Renamon can't recover from that battle and it's not like I can count on any of you guys to help!"

"Hey, you don't have to get snappy with us," Terriermon counters. "Henry, I think that qualifies as rude!"

"We're sorry that we didn't succeed this time. Rika," Henry starts, trying to keep his wits about him, "but we can't expect to win every battle. I know your stressed out about all this, but we'll come up with a new plan and we'll be ready for him the next time we face him."

"You don't even know if there will be a next time!" Rika spits back. "It's not like he's going to wait around until you're ready to fight him again. Standing here is a waste of my time!"

"Rika, we really are trying to help…" Takato attempts to interject.

"And you! What happened with you! You can defeat the D-Reaper, but you and Guilmon can't handle one ultimate level digimon?" Takato bits his lip, not knowing how to respond to the criticism.

"Just forget it. I'm going home…" Rika says after a moment or two.

"I'll go with you," Ryo offers. "Just in case he shows up again."

"I think I'll be fine without the Feckless Wonder…" Rika retorts, beginning to walk away. As she does, her phone suddenly begins to ring. Puffing out a breath, she pulls it out, flips it open and presses it to her ear. "What!?" she shouts into the mouthpiece.

"Nice to hear from you too…" a sarcastic, deep voice responds from the other side, causing Rika to roll her eyes. "I'm not in the mood to be lectured today…" she answers, drawing inquisitive looks from the others around her.

"Riley informed me that you've lost your digivice. You didn't think to report that to me?"

"It's none of your business, Yamaki!" she shouts before preparing to hang up.

"Fine. What I'm more concerned with is why I am getting reports of a fire near downtown. I don't suppose you have an explanation." Rika tosses the phone at Henry and says, "He want's a status report. You can give that back to me tomorrow." With that, she again begins to walk away.

"Hi, Mr. Yamaki. Don't hold any of that against Rika. It's been a rough day for all of us, but her in particular. Some digimon showed up and we didn't manage to beat it today."

"If it's after Ms. Nonaka, then you are not to let her out of your sight," Yamaki orders. "I will have Riley conduct scans of the city and see if we can locate this digimon for you, but I want you to keep her out of trouble until then." Yamaki disconnects the call without waiting for a reply.

"Someone should keep an eye on Rika," Henry says to the group. "I'll go talk to her," Takato volunteers, snatching the phone and running off with Guilmon beside him before Ryo can so much as speak.

* * *

"Rika. Rika, come on!" Takato shouts through pants of breath as he runs to catch up to Rika. The girl turns around, crosses her arms, and glares the goggled tamer right in the face. "I'm not in the mood, Gogglebrain."

"Rika, I'm sorry that we didn't get your digivice back, but Yamaki thinks we should stick close together until they figure out where Mistymon is," he answers while holding out her phone to give it back. Rika takes the phone from his hand and responds with, "I don't care what Yamaki thinks."

"Rika, please stay for a little while longer, or at least let someone make sure you get back home safely." He adopts a frown and drops his gaze. "I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt…"

"I can take care of myself, Gog…"

 _Rika, I think we should stay._ Renamon's voice echoes calmly within Rika's head.

 _You too, Renamon?_

 _Rika, I am not sure I can protect you from him. I too would not be able to forgive myself if anything were to happen…_

 _So what I'm hearing is because I can't make you digivolve, you can't fight him? We used to beat digimon without cards before you even could digivolve._

 _I'm sorry Rika, if I disappoint you._

 _No. It's not that. Ugh. I hate being helpless like this! I seriously have to rely on Gogglehead, Henry, and the Dimwits to beat him?_

 _There may not be much else we can do…_

"Why did it get so quiet, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks aloud, causing Takato to grab his snout to shush him. Rika focuses her gaze once more on the fumbling boy and releases a sigh. "Fine. You win, Gogglehead. I won't make you beat yourself up worrying about my safety."

"Really?" Takato asks, as if not expecting her to concede so easily. The glare he gets in response causes him to fumble over words again before he finally manages to get out, "What I mean is, I know you think you have to do this yourself, but I really want to help and I'm really glad you're letting me."

"Don't get sappy on me, Goggles," Rika states plainly before brushing past him to make her way back towards the others. "I don't intend to hang around here all day: I'll just wait until Renamon is feeling fully recovered, and then I'm heading home." As Renamon moves to follow, she gives a neutral look to Takato, one he can only interpret as her way of expressing thanks, and brushes her tail passed Guilmon, eliciting a slight laugh.

Takato releases a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding and follows Rika back towards the others, who seem to be discussing how best to track down Mistymon:

"An aerial patrol would be ideal," Ryo suggests. "Cyberdramon and I can see a lot more from the air and cover a lot more ground, and both you and Kazu have flying capabilities."

"Yea," Henry agrees, "but flying around the city is sure to attract attention, and we don't necessarily want to cause panic. Then there's the added issue that he'd probably see us before we spot him.'

"So we draw him out," Kazu chimes in. "We know he's after Rika…"

"We're not using Rika as bait," both Henry and Ryo respond simultaneously.

"I do wonder what exactly you'll do when you find him, given he's already trounced you easily," Rika jabs as she comes to stand next to Jeri.

"I see Takato convinced you to stick around a little longer," Ryo says with a sly grin.

"What's the matter, Pretty Boy? Jealous?" she snipes back with a smirk.

"Ryo's not jealous of anybody!" Kazu affirms in defense of his idol, seeming to draw a quiver of dismay from the boy.

"I think we should get back to focusing on how best to deal with Mistymon," Henry suggests. "I don't doubt Yamaki will try his best, but Hypnos hasn't had much luck with this kind of thing."

"Neither have you guys," Ryo adds with an exaggerated shrug. "If I remember correctly, I had to save you from those Parasimon."

"If I remember correctly, it was Gallantmon who defeated them in the end," Henry retorts.

"Details. Details," Ryo says with a wave of his hand.

"Well what do you think we should do, Takato?" Henry asks, looking to his friend. Takato places a finger to his chin and soon answers with, "Well, I don't think it'd be much use trying to roam around and find him if he's just going to hide and try to get the jump on Rika."

"We know he can hide from our d-arks," Kenta interjects while his partner chirps next to him.

"And we know Renamon can't fight him because she can't digivolve," Kazu adds, drawing a baleful glare from both Rika and Renamon.

"Protecting the two of them isn't really the issue," Ryo contends. "I can do that easily. "What's most concerning to me is how to fight him once we run into him again. He runs away if we try to overwhelm him with numbers, but trying to take him one on one hasn't gone well, even for a mega level digimon like Beelzemon."

Rika crosses her arms, clearly becoming impatient as Ryo and Henry go back and forth, Kazu and Kenta chiming in in support of Ryo every here and there.

"We'll be here all night…" Terriermon remarks as he climbs up to Takato's shoulder.

Jeri discreetly steps over to Rika and whispers, "So have you maybe considered going to that dance tomorrow night?"

"Do I have my digivice back, Jeri?" Rika answers with an attitude clear in her tone.

"You should still go to the dance!" Calumon shouts aloud. Jeri tries to silence him, but it was too late: Ryo, Kazu, Kenta, and Henry had already turned their heads in their direction.

"What's going on now?" Ryo asks.

"None of your business, Mr. Perfect," Rika responds with a scowl.

"No way! I heard it! You're going to a dance!" Kazu exclaims, seeming like he's about to laugh. He however forces himself to clam up upon seeing Rika's fist tighten at her side. "No, I'm not, you dweeb!"

"Can we focus on…" Henry starts, but Ryo had clearly lost his interest in arguing. "Why wouldn't you want to go, princess?" he asks in a teasing manner. "Is it that you don't have anyone to go with?"

"Drop it Ryo," Rika warns.

"You know I'd go with you, if you asked," he continues.

"Keep dreaming, Lameo," is her only response.

"So I guess we're not going back out to catch Mistymon?" Henry asks.

"Shush Henry! I wanna see this cat fight!" Terriermon quips from Takato's head.

"Well then your going to be disappointed, you long-eared rat."

"Does that qualify as rude, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks, looking to his now nervously sweating tamer.

"Come on, Rika. You don't want to go alone, do you?"

"I'm not going at all, Mr. Perfect," Rika snaps back. "In fact, I think I'll just head home. Don't even think about following me."

As she turns and begins to walk off, Ryo shouts after her, "How about a little bet?" Rika stops, but does not turn as Ryo smiles and continues, "How about a little match. You still have your cards, don't you?"

"Why would I play against you?" Rika asks, turning her head to glare at him.

"Because I know you still think you can beat me."

"I can."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," he responds. "You get a chance to trounce me and prove that. But if I win, I get take you to the dance."

"Rika, you don't have to…" Jeri starts but Rika responds almost instantly, "You're on!" Ryo takes a seat, his two biggest fans coming up behind him as Rika sits across from him, flanked by Jeri, Henry, and Takato.

"You got this Ryo! You've never lost to her!" Kazu cheers as Ryo plays his first card, an Agumon, and lays two modifiers face down.

Neither Takato or Henry speak as Rika takes her turn, playing her Renamon card and immediately activating a power chip modifier. "Renamon deletes Agumon."

"Not quite," Ryo says with a smirk, flipping over a defense boost card. "Agumon keeps 10 hit points and it's my turn again."

Henry glances at Takato, who clearly is on edge regarding the duel, but remains silent, Terriermon not even noticing due to his excitement with watching the card battle.

Ryo draws and immediately lays down two cards: an evolution followed by Greymon. He next places down an attack chip. "Greymon attacks Renamon."

"I have the type advantage, Mr. Perfect. Unfortunately for you, I survive and it's my turn." Rika places down her own evolution card, followed by a Kyubimon card. "Looks like I win," she gloats.

"Do you?" Ryo asks, moving his hand over to flip up his second card. "WarGreymon's Brave Shield nullifies all damage. And it's my turn again."

"Whatever," Rika responds, ending her turn by laying one card down.

Ryo draws and immediately puts down a viral chip card, changing his Greymon to a virus type. "Nova Blast and I win."

"Think again,' Rika responds, moving to flip her card. "Speed chip. Means I get a chance to dodge."

"By all means, flip the coin," he teases with a wave of his hand. Rika flips a coin three times, obtaining two heads and one tails. "Looks like I successfully dodged." Ryo laughs and rolls his eyes before placing down one more card and gesturing for her to take her turn.

She draws, smirks and lays down the card immediately. "Reprogram. Erases all modifiers on the field, activated or not. Ryo's brow raises in alarm. "Well I'll be…"

"I win, Lameo."

"No way! I can't believe Ryo lost!" Kenta shouts while Cyberdramon merely releases a soft growl of disappointment. "You got lucky this time, pumpkin," Ryo says through a mild laugh. "Good duel."

"Luck had nothing to do with it," she replies, beginning to place her cards back in order.

"Hey wait! I want another one!" Terriermon whines.

"Too bad. Show's over," Renamon states monotonously.

"And an intriguing show it was," Guardromon adds.

"Well, do another one then!" Terriermon insists. "Oh! I know! Duel Takato!"

"Chumly!?" Kazu shouts, as if surprised. "Takato can hardly beat me!"

"I think you should try, Takato," Henry suggests, drawing a look of both confusion and alarm from the boy. "Wahh…but…well…I…I mean…that is…"

"Oh shut up and get your cards out, Gogglehead. I'll make it fast." Takato gives Henry one last pained look before taking a seat across from Rika and digging into his pocket for his cards.

"Same bet, Rika?" Henry suggests, drawing giggles from Terriermon, which the blue haired tamer stifles. "He wins, he goes to the dance with you?"

"Henry…" Takato mumbles out.

"Yea, yea, whatever…" Rika answers. "Got a problem with that, Gogglehead?"

"Uhhh….no…I guess not…" he says before clearing his throat and giving a forced laugh.

"Great, because I'm going first this time," she says as she lays down her Renamon card as well as one face down card. Takato draws his six cards, frowns upon seeing them, and selects a Salamon card to put down.

"Salamon, Chumly? Seriously?" Kazu shouts over his shoulder.

"Just let him duel, Kazu," Henry suggests as Guilmon scans back and forth, trying to ascertain if he should do or say something.

Takato next lays down both a digivolution and a virus chip before placing his BlackGatomon card atop Salamon. "BlackGatomon attacks?" he says less than confidently.

Rika flips a speed boost card and, after flipping her three coins finds that she had successfully dodged.

"My turn, then," she states firmly, drawing another card and laying it down immediately. "Digivolution. Gives me Kyubimon. Power activate and attack."

"Virus type means resistance, so Takato is still in this, right?" Jeri asks, though no one answers.

Takato draws next, placing down a Crest of Kindness card. "Digivolve to LadyDevimon and attack." Rika flips a coin before announcing, "Not fast enough, gogglehead. I dodge." She draws and immediately places an attack boost down and announces her attack. Takato swallows as he counts out his damage, realizing he has only two hit points left. "One more hit and I win," Rika says with a smirk.

Takato's hand trembles as he reaches to draw another card. _Well, I guess it really is too much to ask for luck to be on my side just once…_ As he lifts the card to his view, his brow shoots up. _…or maybe it is…_

"What is it, Gogglehead? What did you draw?"

"Training grips…" Takato announces, laying it down. Rika again flips the coin to see if she can dodge. "….It's got me…" Rika announces. Takato lays down an attack chip card and announces his attack. Rika counts out her damage and frowns.

"Whoa! Did Takato just win that!" Terriermon asks.

"No way!" Kazu shouts in disbelief. "Chumly just beat the Digimon Queen!" Takato gives a pained laugh before saying, "Lucky, I guess?" Rika gathers up her cards and places them back in her pouch. "Don't count on it ever happening again," she says before standing up. Her lavender eyes seem to sparkle with…Takato can only guess shame and…rage? _Why would she be so mad about…oh…_

"Wait, this means Rika has to go to her dance…with Takato!" Kenta adds.

"There won't be any dance unless I get my digivice back!" Rika shouts at him.

"No, that wasn't the bet!" Kazu teases.

"I'm not going to a dance when my digivice is still…"

"We'll get it for you," Henry says, standing up. "It's better if you don't go hunting for him anyway. You worry about your dance and we'll worry about Mistymon." Rika directs a dangerous glare at Henry, enough that Terriermon decides to hide behind his shoulder.

"I can patrol by her place tonight," Ryo volunteers. "I still can't believe I lost and Takato won, but I suppose I'm glad someone is going to the dance with you." Rika turns with a huff and briskly walks off, Takato deciding to run after her while Ryo follows at a slower pace. "See you tomorrow, for a day of patrol," he says, giving a salute to Kazu and Kenta and a nod to Henry and Jeri.

* * *

"Rika, wait!" Takato calls after her, though she merely increases her pace. "Please wait!" he pleads as he pants for breath. She stops and turns, giving him a glare before asking, "What do you want? To gloat about it?"

"No…of course not…" Takato responds with some angst. "I know it was just a lucky win and I know you don't really want to go, so…"

"So what?" she asks impatiently.

"Well, I won't make you go if you don't want to, is what I mean," he says firmly, lifting his gaze to meet Rika's and maintaining it there.

"Well don't let her out of it so easy, Takato. You won fair and square," Takato turns, finally noticing Ryo had followed him. Upon seeing him, Rika answers Takato with, "I don't need your pity. Gogglehead. A bet is a bet. Just try not to embarrass me…"

"That's the spirit," Ryo teases as he places a hand around Takato's shoulder and pulls him close. "You do want to go, don't you Takato? I'm willing to go in your place, you know."

"No way! I'll take Gogglehead over you any day. He's far less annoying." Takato senses himself blushing at this and turns his head downward to best hide it.

"Fine, fine. I'll just get the next dance," Ryo says a light laugh. "I guess I'll be your escort home tonight pumpkin. Takato's going to need to sleep and get himself the proper attire tomorrow."

"I could help with the…" Takato tries to interject, but a crushing squeeze from Ryo silences him.

"Whatever. The sooner I get my digivice back, the better anyway. "Dress to impress Gogglehead, and meet me at my place tomorrow at around three."

"Umm, ok. I'll be there," Takato says with a nod. Ryo releases him and trails after Rika. As they vanish out of sight, Takato allows himself to slump against a tree, feeling an odd mix of exasperation, nervousness, and excitement.

"Is something wrong, Takato?" Guilmon asks, finding his tamer's behavior odd.

"Nothing at all, Guilmon. I think…I think I just got a date with Rika…"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 6

Rika opens the gate to her house, passing through before slamming it closed in Ryo's face. As she walks up to the main structure of the house, Renamon phases into step next to her and asks, "Are you sure you wish to go to this dance tomorrow? We do still need to retrieve your digivice."

"Yes, I have to go, Renamon. I bet and I lost. I can't believe I lost to Gogglehead. I mean, really: what are the chances of that happening?"

"But why do you have to go, Rika? Did not Takato say you didn't have to?"

"He's just giving me his pity, and I don't need it!" Rika insists. "Stupid Gogglehead…"

"So this is a matter of honoring your bet with him?" Renamon asks, as if processing the information. "He seems to think it just a lucky victory on his part. How can one pity that which is above them?"

Rika sighs as she reaches the door and turns her head in Renamon's direction. "Takato doesn't think he's above anyone. That's what sets him apart from people like Ryo, Kazu, and even Henry. What exactly are you getting at, Renamon? Do you think I'm ungrateful for having a friend like him?"

"No. I just wish to understand why you think he is pitying you rather than being sincere." Rika furrows her brow in thought, but gives no answer, turning back away and pushing open the door to enter. She heads toward the kitchen, where she finds both her mother and grandmother in their usual place, enjoying some tea.

"Home early again, I see," Rumiko says as Rika enters.

"Would you like some tea dear?" Seiko asks.

"Yea, grandma. Thanks," she responds as she takes a seat at the table.

"About what I was saying to you this morning, Rika," Rumiko begins. "If you really don't want…"

"I'm going to the dance tomorrow…" Rika blurts out quickly. Rumiko appears confused and looks to Seiko to confirm that she had indeed heard what she thought she did. "You…want to go?"

"Not really," Rika answers, turning her gaze down to the table, "but it's not like I can fight this digimon without my digivice and I made a bet that I lost, so I'm going."

"Well, I think it's very nice that you've decided to go, dear," Seiko says as he places a cup in front of Rika. "You may even have a good time."

"Well, if you're going, we'll need to make sure that dress fits," Rumiko says, her excitement now coming out. "And we can go get your hair done. And your nails…"

"No nails!" Rika shouts, looking up sharply. "Dress and hair, fine. No nails!"

"But Rika…" Rumiko begins but a look from Seiko silences her. "Alright, alright. Just the dress and hair," she says, making a placating gesture.

"Do you have someone you're going with, Rika?" Seiko asks as she takes her seat once again. "Or perhaps you're going alone?"

"No…" Rika answers before taking a sip of tea. "Ryo challenged me to a card game, betting that if he won, he would get to go with me."

"So you're going with this Ryo boy?" Rumiko asks. "Oh, I can't wait to meet him!"

"No, I'm not!" Rika states firmly before calming herself again. "I beat him, but then I did the same bet with Takato and lost…"

"So, Takato is going with you? That's very good. He's a very nice young man," Seiko responds.

"It's perfect!" Rumiko exclaims. "You two are one of the most adorable couples I've ever seen!"

"Mom! We're not a couple!" Rika shouts, her cheeks tinging pink. "We're just friends going to a dance…"

"Of course you are, dear," Seiko agrees, giving Rumiko a stern look before the woman can say anything further. "So, what else happened today? Did you find that digimon and get back your digivice?"

"Yes…and no…" Rika mumbles with a frown. "Henry and Ryo are going to try to get it tomorrow again. Without it, Renamon and I simply can't fight him…"

"Well that's alright, isn't it?" Rumiko asks. "I wouldn't complain if two nice young men offered to do such a thing for me."

"Well I'm not you, mom…" Rika says, some exasperation apparent in her tone. "I just want to go to that dance and be done with it…" She gulps down the rest of her tea and places the cup back on the table. "I'll be in my room…" She leaves for her room without another word.

* * *

Takato fidgets uncomfortably as his mother makes small talk with the clerk. His shirt is itchy and the tie bothers his neck, but his mother said he had to wear a full suit if he was going to a dance. _Come on mom. The sooner I can get out of this thing, the better._

"I'm just not sure dark blue is the best color for him…" Mrs. Matsuki opines as the store clerk nods her head. "I understand the concern, ma'am. I can check to see what else we have in his size. Is the size he is wearing good?"

"Takato, sweetie, does that suit fit? It's not too tight is it?" Ms. Matsuki asks her son.

"Umm, no mom. Not too tight. Just kind of itchy…"

"It'll be less itchy the longer you wear it," the store clerk assures. "You're just not used to wearing one yet. I'll check in the back to see what other colors we have for the pants and jacket. Be right back." She walks off towards the stock room.

Mrs. Matsuki releases a sigh before beginning to gush over her son all over again: "I can't believe my baby is going to his first dance! You must be so excited!"

"Well, that's one way to put it," Takato replies, rubbing the back of his head.

"Takato, I certainly hope your intending on taking those ridiculous things off before the dance," she states firmly. Takato moves his hands over his goggles, frowns, and replies, "Do I have to mom? They're kind of my thing." Mrs. Matsuki extends a hand, gesturing for him to hand them over. He hesitates, but ultimately complies, drawing mild distress from Guilmon.

"Takatomon! Why are you taking off your goggles?"

"It's alright, Guilmon," Ms. Matsuki responds. "He'll get them back after the dance." Guilmon checks with Takato to see if he is concerned and upon sensing no distress from the boy, calms himself as well.

"Now wait right here, Takato. I'm going to see if I can find you a nice pair of black shoes. Mrs. Matsuki walks off to a corner of the store, leaving Takato and Guilmon alone near the counter.

Takato immediately loosens his tie, letting out a mild sigh of relief. "Do you not like your scarf, Takatomon?" Guilmon asks.

"No, boy," Takato says with a chuckle. "Its not a scarf. It's called a tie…and it's just kind of itchy…"

"Why are you wearing it if it itches?"

"Well, I have to, boy. I have to wear it to go to the dance…or at least that's what my mom says."

"But Takatomon, how will you dance if you're itchy?"

"I'll manage, Guilmon," Takato replies with another chuckle.

"Takatomon, if you're going to the dance with Rika, does that mean you're going to be her partner?" Takato seems to stiffen but answers, "Well…yea. At least I hope I'll get to dance with her…"

"Does that mean you and me won't be partners anymore?"

"Whaa? No, Guilmon! You'll always be my digimon partner." The red saurian simply cocks his head and gives a mild smile. "You promise?"

"Yea, Guilmon. You're stuck with me forever," Takato says with a chuckle.

"Can I go to the dance too then, Takatomon? Please?"

"Well… I don't know boy. I mean, you can't go inside with me."

"Can I wait outside?" Guilmon asks. "I promise to be good!"

Takato considers it for a moment before something clicks and he replies, "Yea, ok. You can wait outside. But you have to stay with Renamon. You can't come bursting in if you get hungry or anything like that."

"Oh I promise! I promise!" he cheers enthusiastically. "Yay! I'm going to a dance! Haha!"

"Takato! Come try on these shoes!" his mother yells across the store. He complies, approaching his mother as Guilmon follows, though the digimon seems to get distracted and walk off. Takato sits and tries on the black shoes, affirming to his mother that they fit. The store clerk also returns, carrying with her a pair of tan dress pants and a brown blazer. "Perhaps this would be more your style, sir?" she says kindly, handing them to him. Takato removes the blue jacket and tries on the brown one, finding it to be of courser material, but rather comfy.

"This one is good," he affirms, looking to his mother. "If you like those shoes, I have them in brown," the store clerk adds and Takato nods his agreement."

"Takatomon! Takatomon! Look what I found!" Guilmon runs back up to him, a red bowtie hanging from his snout. "We already have a tie, Guilmon," Ms. Matsuki assures, though Takato takes it, removes the tie he has on, and tries it on. Finding it much more comfortable then the ordinary tie, he looks to his mother and asks, "Can I do this one instead?"

"A bowtie may not be the most appropriate…" Ms. Matsuki begins, but notice's Guilmon's ears beginning to droop, as if he had done something wrong, and decides to say instead, "Well, it looks very nice. Sure. We'll get the bowtie."

"I can ring you up, ma'am," the clerk says, moving back behind the counter.

"Alright. I'm just about set. Just one more thing to get…"

* * *

The phone rings in the Wong residence and a little girl skips over to the phone to answer it. "Hewwo? Who's dis?"

"Hi Suzie. It's Takato. Is Henry there?"

"Henwy! It's the Angwy Kid for you!" she shouts across the kitchen as Takato gives a mild groan on the other end of the line.

"Takato? Isn't it almost time for you to get to the dance?" Henry asks as he grabs the phone. "I was just about to head out to meet Ryo, Kazu, and Kenta for another patrol."

"I know. And I'm glad I caught you before you went out, because…."

"Are you getting butterflies?" Henry asks.

"A little. I had to talk to someone other than my parents before I went. What do I do if I screw up?"

"What's there to screw up? You know how to dance don't you?"

"Umm…"

"You don't know how to dance, do you?"

"…please help…"

"Well, just follow everyone else's lead. I doubt anybody really 'knows' how to dance. People just do it."

"Really reassuring, Henry…"

"Well, it's not like you're afraid of embarrassment, Takatomon…" Terriermon teases as he jumps up to Henry's shoulder.

"Terriermon… not now…" Henry tries to say discreetly.

"Here's what you gotta do," Terriermon says, ignoring his tamer. "Just grab her and kiss her!"

"No! Do not do that!" Henry warns as he tries to stifle his partner. "That really will end in you being throttled."

"No joke. Hehe…" Takato says nervously.

"Just try to focus and be confident," Henry says as the sound of knocking pounds on his door. "I gotta go. We'll give you the update on Mistymon later." He hangs up just as Takato begins to ask, "Oh, Henry, what do I…" Takato frowns as he places the phone back on the receiver. "…do if I embarrass her…" _Oh man. I asked for this, didn't I? If I mess up tonight on anything in front of her prep school classmates, she'll never let me live it down… No. I gotta be confident. Everything will be ok. Maybe I'll even tell her how I really feel. Not until I know she won't throttle me I guess, but still maybe…_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 7

"Oh, you look gorgeous, Rika! Just like your mother!" Rika seems to stew a bit at the comment, but holds in any foul phrase as she checks herself in the mirror. Her mother had admittedly selected a dress beyond acceptable: its dark crimson color was neither too flashy for her taste or too dry for her mother's. The length was respectable, reaching just below her kneecaps, and the sleeves and collar were neither too revealing nor too modest.

She had refused to wear heeled shoes and her mother quickly gave up trying to convince her, allowing her to get some flats to match the dress. Her hair was one of the more stunning attributes of her appearance, with only her bangs clipped up to keep her hair from covering her eyes. The rest of hair remained down, almost appearing to flow into the dress.

"You really do look lovely, Rika," her grandmother agrees as she hands her a box. This is a little something I got for you. I think now is an appropriate time to use it. Rika gives a slight nod of thanks before taking the box and opening it, finding a simple silver string necklace with the easily recognizable form of a kitsune as a pendant, a small glimmering topaz set into it. "I…love it…" Rika says, allowing the slightest of smiles.

The doorbell rings and Rumiko rushes to answer it, finding Takato on the other side. "Takato, how handsome you look! Come in! She's just about ready. Takato gives a smile and nod before entering, a clear box gripped in his hand. He nearly drops it as Rika enters, so taken is he with her appearance. "Wow…Rika…You look…"

"You don't look bad yourself, Gogglehead," she interrupts. "Let's just get this over with…"

"Oh, umm..." he says, as he lifts the box he had been holding. "For you." Inside the clear box, a wristband with tiny purple flowers can be seen. "I wasn't really sure what kind of flower to get, but I figured…"

"It's lovely!" Rumiko shouts. "Oh Rika, you must put it on!" Rika sets a mild glare towards Takato, but allows it to soften when she notices his face redden slightly. She opens the box, takes out the band and slides it onto her wrist. The flowers appear to be lilacs, or at least smell like them and she finds herself actually grateful for the gift.

"We better get going," Rika insists, putting her thoughts of gratitude aside. The school isn't far, so I hope you don't mind walking."

"No, of course not," Takato responds, waiting until she passes him and following her out. She stops immediately upon seeing Guilmon standing near the gate, Renamon next to him, apparently talking.

"I kind of told him he can come if he stays outside with Renamon…" Takato says, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"So what I'm hearing is you presumed I'd be ok with having Renamon babysit him?" Takato opens his mouth to answer, but upon realizing his oversight and that she was probably right, he lowers his head.

"You're lucky I am fine with it," Rika adds, once again softening slightly. "It'll be good to have them close in case Mistymon comes after me again."

"I think Henry and Ryo are going to take care of that," Takato assures. "We should be ok for the night. Hehe." Rika squints at him, causing him to fidget slightly, but she drops whatever her thoughts were and continues strolling forward, Takato and Guilmon following close behind while Renamon jumps from street lamp to street lamp above them.

None notice Mistymon as he spies on them from a nearby rooftop, a wicked grin curving on his lips. _Well well well. It appears I have more than just digimon to compete with for her favor. No matter. I will deal with him and his pet the same as that fox._ He leaps across the rooftops, following behind them as they approach a school building and enter through the gates. He draws and ignites his blade. _Alright. Round three…_

"Guardian Barrage!"

"Desolation Claw! Mistymon jumps away in time to dodge, turning to face his attackers. "What do you know? Yamaki was right! I figured we'd eventually run into you somewhere near Rika," Ryo says with a cocky tone, a card and digivice already in his hand and ready to be swiped.

"I haven't the time nor patience to contend with thee. Be gone," Mistymon orders before turning around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kazu shouts confidently. "Digi-Modify! Targeting activate! Let him have it, Guardromon!"

"Guardian Barrage!" Guardromon's whistling missiles explode on Mistymon, kicking up some smoke. "Bulls-eye!"

"Not quite. Blast Fire!" Mistymon flies out of the smoke and swipes with his blade, sending a wave of flames that lick at Guardromon's metallic exterior and cause him to fall backward. "Oh nuts and bolts, that is hot!"

"Digi-Modify! Speed activate!" Cyberdramon rushes forward, tackling Mistymon and forcing him off the roof. With a quick blow from the butt of his sword, Mistymon forces the dragonoid creature to release him and begins bounding down the street.

"He's heading to the park!" Ryo exclaims. "Let's run him down!" Ryo pulls Kazu up onto Cyberdrmon's back as Guardromon manages to return himself to his feet and they fly off in pursuit.

* * *

Henry and Kenta walk alongside the park, making their way towards Rika's house to meet up with Ryo and Kazu. MarineAngemon floats silently behind his partner for the most part and Terriermon goes to extremes to show how bored he is. "I still can't believe you're gonna make me hunt a wizard instead of keep an eye on our two lovebirds."

"Terriermon… Please focus…" Henry groans.

"But Henry, we know he's going to go after her. Why can't we just stay there until he shows up? Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Do you think being punted across town by Rika is easier than looking for Mistymon?"

"She could only do that if she saw me," Terriermon claims, to which MarineAngemon responds with a series of squeaks.

"He's right," Kenta interjects. "You're the loudest one in our group by far."

"I am not that loud…"

"Our neighbors call three times a week because you're so loud when you're home…" Henry points out.

"They're just a bunch of grouchies!" Terriermon insists, switching to Henry's other shoulder.

"I still can't believe Takato went to that dance with Rika," Kenta adds after some silence. "I mean, I hardly get what Ryo sees. She's never been very nice, at least not to me."

"Pih puu puh piu," MarineAngemon chirps before Kenta adopts an insulted look. "What do you mean I can be annoying sometimes? You're supposed to be on my side!"

The sound of beeping suddenly blares from their pockets and they pull out their d-arks, noticing a signal rapidly approaching. Sure enough, Mistymon bounds down the road toward them, leaping over them as he reaches their position before continuing on his way.

"What are you standing around for!?" Kazu shouts as he and Ryo zip past. "Get him!"

"Finally, some action!" Terriermon cheers. "The faster we finish, the faster we can get to that dance!"

"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

 _Matrix Digivolution…_

 _Terriermon digivolve to… Gargomon!_

 _Gargomon digivolve to… Rapidmon!_

"Go ahead! We'll catch up!" Henry orders before Rapidmon zips off in pursuit.

"Time to go puu, buddy," Kenta says, looking to MarineAngemon.

"Puhh!" MarineAngemon chirps, creating a heart that consumes his two charges and lifts them off the ground before floating into the park.

Mistymon bounds into the park with wide strides, turning back and smirking as he notices Rapidmon quickly gaining ground.

"Rapid Fire!" Mistymon rolls out of the way and plants his feet firmly on the grass, his foe's missiles exploding on the concrete behind him.

"Try this! Tri-beam!"

"Core Dart!" Mistymon zips forward, blazing sword held out in front of him, and cuts through the attack, slamming into Rapidmon and sending him tumbling down.

"Blast Fir…"

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon zips past, slicing into his side and interrupting his attack before skidding to a halt and allowing his riders to dismount.

"Nowhere to run, Mistymon!" Ryo shouts before swiping another card. "Digi-Modify! Power activate!"

"Desolation Claw!"

"Blast Fire!" Mistymon swings his blade, but Cyberdramon's attack easily cuts through the wave of fire and knocks Mistymon backward.

"Guardian Barrage!" Guardromon's missiles explode near him and he rolls to the left, positioning himself in front of the entrance to a tunnel.

"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon's attack explodes in front of him and he leaps backward into the tunnel before disappearing into its darkness just as Henry and Kenta land. "Did he go in there?" Henry asks.

"Yep. And we're going in after him," Ryo confirms before signaling for the others to follow. Rapidmon dedigivolves to Terriermon and returns to Henry's shoulder so as to be able to fit inside.

"He might be trying to draw us into a confined space to make sure not as many of us can hit him at once," Henry points out.

"It won't work," Kazu assures. "We've got you and Ryo, and there's no way he beats all of us."

"Pi puu puh?" MarineAngemon asks.

"How could it be a trap? We saw him go in here," Kenta answers.

"I'd probably feel more comfortable if we had Beelzemon here too," Ryo admits.

"He had to babysit," Henry answers. "Besides, don't you think we're overkill enough as it is?"

"I sense our opponent up ahead," Cyberdramon answers, sprinting ahead and around a corner. As the others turn down the tunnel, they see nothing but emptiness ahead. "Are you sure you sense him nearby?" Ryo asks, checking his d-ark.

"Oh, he's not wrong," Mistymon's voice echoes out from behind them. "But it's already too late. Core Dart!"

They turn just in time to see Mistymon jab his sword into the ceiling creating a rockslide from above.

"Kahuna Waves!" MarineAngemon quickly generates a shield to protect the tamers from the falling rocks, which barricade the tunnel they had entered through.

"Well, he did say it could be a trap," Terriermon quips.

"And we fell right into it?" Kazu asks. "Oh man! What are we? Stupid?"

"Admittedly, we should have considered that as a possibility," Henry states. "We better get moving to the other end of this tunnel. We know where he's going."

"Aww, he's going to ruin Takatomon's date, isn't he?" Terriermon asks.

"Date might be a strong word," Ryo grumbles, mostly to himself as they begin down the long tunnel ahead.

* * *

The dance is swarming with teenagers all over the gymnasium floor. No paired dances had been played yet, but both Takato and Rika found themselves enjoying the festivity. The food was pretty good and there was no shortage of various sodas, ciders, and other assorted drinks to enjoy. The dances had been simple and Takato found himself moving without thinking, much to Rika's surprise and, oddly, content.

"Alright, we'll be back in five minutes with a few more synchronized songs and our couples dance of the night," the DJ announces. "Keep it happening, Kagurazaka Academy!"

Feeling a little out of breath, both Takato and Rika decide to take a seat at their table and refresh themselves with the water provided. "Wow, I feel like I can't breathe," Takato says as he takes his seat as well as a massive gulp of water.

"Well, that's what you get for flailing around like a monkey," Rika states sourly, though the smile on her face betrays her true thoughts on the matter. "Hey! You've been dancing around too. I never knew you would be so good at it." Rika shrugs. "There's not much to it, is there? At least not to this kind of dancing. The couple's dance is probably the really hard one."

"Looking forward to it," Takato says with a goofy grin, causing Rika's cheeks to tinge just slightly pink. She looks away while forcing herself to adopt a scowl, much to Takato's dismay. He bites down on his lip and also looks away, mentally berating himself. _Great going. You're freaking her out. Am I trying too hard or something?_

"Hey, Rika," Takato says after a moment, causing Rika to turn back to face him, giving him a curious look. "I just wanted to say…thank you for deciding to go to this dance and for bringing me. I really am having fun."

"Glad to hear that," she answers. "Admittedly, I'm actually enjoying it too." She allows her smile to melt once more and again turns away. "You know I really wish you'd smile like that more," Takato says as she does. "I really like it when you smile."

She turns back to face him, giving him an odd look that causes him to fidget slightly. "You think I should smile more? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ummm…well…I just mean… I just like seeing you happy. I wish you could be happy more often."

"I don't usually have much to be happy about, Gogglehead…"

 _Come on, Takato. Think!_ "Well, maybe whenever you're sad, we can talk and try to cheer you up?" Rika again squints at him. "I sometimes can't tell if your just being nice or you're really just this soft." Takato takes the comment as an insult and turns away, frowning.

"It's a good thing. I don't know why you put up with me sometimes. No one before you or Henry ever did..."

"Well, they all missed out then."

"Hmph. Maybe I need to start doing things like this more often. The last time I felt like this was…"

"You're birthday?" Takato interrupts, causing Rika some shock, though she quickly suppresses it and nods. "I had wanted to check in with you that day, but Renamon…"

"Yea. I saw you…" Rika says. "If you must know, my dad left when I was little and…it just hasn't been the same since."

"You know none of us will ever leave you, right? Nothing, not even a magic knight digimon, is scaring any of us off."

"Thanks for that…" Takato and Rika suddenly realize they had been moving closer to each other and that their faces are extremely close. Both seem to lean in unconciously and their lips almost meet, but they stop as the DJ's voice rings out over the auditorium: "Alright boys and girls. We're gonna get started with the couples dance, so make your way to the center floor."

Rika turns away and pushes herself back before standing. "You coming, Gogglehead?"

"Ummm….yea," Takato says, standing up perhaps too quickly, causing a glass of water to spill.

"You have got to be the clumsiest person I have met." Takato's face reddens slightly with embarrassment before Rika extends a hand to him and says, "Let's find out if you're coordinated enough to do this."

Takato flashes a goofy grin before reaching out and taking her hand. Just as they are about to walk up, Renamon suddenly appears in front of them. "Renamon? What are you doing in here?" Rika asks, as if annoyed.

"It's Guilmon," Renamon explains. "He's here and he's fighting him. He needs Takato to come and help."

"Mistymon!" Takato shouts.

"I guess he gave Braniac, Mr. Perfect, and the Dimwit Duo the slip," Rika acknowledges. "Let's go!"

* * *

The faint sound of music hums over the parking lot as Renamon leans against the wall, eyeing Guilmon as he runs, grabs a stick, and brings it back to her. Thank you for playing with me, Renamon," he says as he returns it to her. She gives no answer, tossing the stick again and sending him off to fetch it.

The music gets a little louder and Renamon turns her head upward , squinting as if trying to see the soundwaves. "Do you think Takatomon and Rika are dancing yet?" Guilmon asks.

"I would imagine so. I sense no distress from Rika. In fact, she almost seems…calm…happy…"

"Yep. Takatomon does that. I always feel happy around him."

"I see," Renamon replies.

Guilmon's tail begins to wag and he asks, "Renamon, do you know how to dance?" The kitsune looks confusedly at him before answering, "No, I'm afraid not."

"Neither do I. I asked Takatomon to show me, but he said he didn't know either. I don't know how he can dance if he doesn't know how."

"Perhaps he is learning tonight," Renamon offers.

"Oh? I guess so…" Guilmon replies, putting a claw to his chin in thought. "You're really smart, Renamon." Renamon smiles mildly at the compliment but makes no other outward show of her content with the praise.

"I wish I could learn to dance too," Guilmon admits, his tail still wagging fiercely. "Maybe Taktomon will show me later."

"Maybe," Renamon answers softly.

"Hey Renamon. Since Takatomon and Rika are dance partners, does that mean you and me are dance partners too?" Renamon seems to chuckle at the thought and replies, "I don't know. We don't know how to dance, do we, Guilmon?"

"That's true…" Guilmon admits, his tail stopping and his ears drooping slightly. "Terriermon says he knows how to dance. I feel like I should know…but I don't…"

"Terriermon doesn't know how to dance, Guilmon," Renamon assures him. "Dancing requires grace: to move in rhythm to music. That is something he cannot do."

"Oh. I don't know if I can do that," Guilmon admits, once again scratching at his chin. "Terriermon says I don't have grace."

"You have more then him," Renamon assures.

Guilmon begins tapping his foot, trying to keep in synch with the faint sound of music. As Renamon watches, she soon finds herself doing the same. Guilmon's moves become more erratic as he switches between feet, turns and waves his arms, laughing as he does before exclaiming, "I think I'm dancing, Renamon!"

Renamon shakes her head before jumping in front of him and trying to mimic and refine his movements. Guilmon circles around her, hopping around as she twirls, flips, and flits about. They continue even as the sound of music ceases, each laughing at the other's antics. "Renamon is dancing too!" Guilmon cheers.

"We're dancing together, Guilmon," Renamon says with a chuckle.

"Yes. I may vomit…"

Guilmon ceases his movements, instead starting to crouch low and snarl as Mistymon stares down at them. He leaps down, standing across from them in the lot, eyes locked on Guilmon. "Well, want to fight you little beast?"

"Rock Breaker!" Guilmon zips forward and swipes with his claws, causing Mistymon to take a single step back before kicking upward with his knee and sending Guilmon to the pavement.

"Diamond Storm!" Renamon unleashes her attack, the shards pelting harmlessly at Mistymon's armor. "Fetch the red one's tamer," Mistymon demands. "He is whom I am here to challenge!"

"Pyrosphere!" Guilmon launches his attack, which explodes on Mistymon's back, but does little more than draw an annoyed look. Renamon vanishes, apparently phasing away, as he turns to face the red saurian. "Is that all, little vermin?"

"Rock Breaker!" Mistymon swings his sword, striking Guilmon with its broad end to knock him aside.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouts as he pushes through the school doors and runs over to the lot.

"Ah, my tamer's chosen champion is here," Mistymon taunts, turning to face Rika, Takato, and Renamon. "My Queen, to prove my worthiness to be your partner, once and for all, I shall challenge and defeat this one for you. Make your partner digivolve to ultimate, human!"

"When are you going to get it? I'm not going to be your partner!" Rika shouts back at him.

Takato glances at Guilmon as he stands back up, clearly showing himself ready and willing to fight. "What did you do with our friends?" Takato demands to know.

"They proved to be quite the pests, so I incapacitated them," Mistymon answers. "You are all that stands between me and my tamer now. Do you accept my challenge to duel?"

Takato checks with Rika, who gives him a nod. "You better win, Gogglehead."

"Alright Mistymon! You're on! If I win, you give back Rika's digivice and go back to the Digital World! Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

 _Matrix Digivolution…_

 _Guilmon digivolve to… Growlmon!_

 _Growlmon digivolve to… WarGrowlmon!_

"For honor and glory then! Victory shall be mine! Blast Fire!"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any Digimon characters.

Chapter 8

"Blast Fire!" Mistymon's blade ignites and he swings, creating a wave of flame that licks at WarGrowlmon's chest plate, seeming ineffective. "Get him, WarGrowlmon! Take him down!" Takato orders.

"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon's chest cannons prime and fire, Mistymon dodging away just in the nick of time.

"He's fast…" Takato grumbles. "Digi-Modify! Speed activate! Keep on your toes, boy!"

"Core Dart!" Mistymon shoots forward, aiming for the symbol on WarGrowlmon's metallic chest plate. "Radiation Blade!" WarGrowlmon's speed boost gives him enough edge to be able to parry the blow and knock away his attacker. He swings again, but Mistymon jumps back to his feet and hops backward, dodging and preparing to resume the duel.

"Diamond Storm!" Renamon jumps up, forming her crystal shards and firing them. They again harmlessly pelt off of Mistymon's armor and he swings his blade in her direction: "Blast Fire!"

WarGrowlmon moves in the way of the attack, shielding Renamon with his bulky body before aiming his cannons: "Atomic Blaster!" Mistymon again nimbly dodges away, easily proving too fast for even a speed enhanced WarGrowlmon.

"Takato, you have to swipe something else!" Rika insists.

"I'm trying to think of what to use…" Takato admits, shuffling through his deck.

"Core Dart!" Mistymon shoots forward, easily striking his opponent's bulky body, but failing to pierce through his metallic plating.

"Power Paw!" Renamon delivers a flying kick to Mistymon's jaw, but he hardly seems fazed by it, and simply grabs her by the leg and swings her around before her tossing her to the ground.

"Radiation Blade!" Mistymon tries to dodge, but WarGrowlmon just narrowly catches his side and he stumbles back slightly. Renamon staggers back up to her feet, seeming to refrain from putting weight on one of her legs.

"Digi-Modify! Targeting activate!"

"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon locks on and fires, leaving Mistymon with little choice but to attempt to neutralize the attack: "Blast Fire!"

As Renamon tries to stagger forward and continue, Rika shouts out to her, "Renamon, stand down! You're hurt! As much as I hate it, we have to let Gogglehead and Dino-boy handle this." Renamon phases out, appearing next to Rika before allowing herself to kneel while Rika tends to her.

As the dust clears, Mistymon stands, appearing somewhat singed but otherwise unaffected while WarGrowlmon continues to growl lightly. "I grow tired of this tomfoolery," Mistymon announces. "Knights slay dragons and you will find this time to be no different. Prepare to be vanquished!"

"Atomic Blaster!"

"Core Dart!" Mistymon shoots skyward as WarGrowlmon's cannon fire blasts his previous position. "Core Dart!" He suddenly turns and dives, driving his sword into WarGrowlmon's exposed head.

"Oh no! WarGrowlmon!" Takato shouts as his partner thrashes, eventually tossing the knight away. The sword dissipates, reforming in its master's hand as WarGrowlmon buckles slightly, falling to one knee and struggling to keep himself going.

"Swipe a recovery card! Fast!" Rika commands and Takato begins digging through his cards, unable to find it.

"Blast Fire!" Flames lick at WarGrowlmon as he struggles to force himself back up, but finds himself lacking the energy to do so.

"Takato, he's getting barbecued! Do something!" Rika shouts to him. Takato fumbles dropping his cards. And both he and Rika begin sifting through them and trying to recollect them. "Gogglehead, you have to think!" Rika shouts as Mistymon begins to laugh and revel in his apparent victory.

"I don't know what to do…" Takato says. "I don't even know if I have a recovery card in here, or any other card that might be useful." Rika grabs his hand and squeezes. "Think. I can't believe I have to say this, but you're my only hope right now! Don't fail!" Takato tries to slow his breathing and think for a moment and suddenly notices a slightly buried card. He grabs it, his eyes filling with hope. _That's it._

"WarGrowlmon! You have to stand up! We can win this! Take all the strength you need from me! We have to beat him!" WarGrowlmon creaks as he pushes himself to stand. Mistymon ceases his barrage of flames, smirking at his opponent's attempt. "Finally, in your death throws, you make one final desperate act. What shall it be?"

"This! Digi-Modify! Training grips activate!"

"What?" Mistymon asks, turning his attention toward Takato and away from WarGrowlmon. The grips form on WarGrowlmon's arm blades and he tosses them while the knight is distracted. Mistymon grunts as they take hold, restricting his movement. "Bindings? You think this will hold me?" The bindings quickly begin to simmer and smoke as Mistymon struggles to free himself.

"You get one shot, Gogglehead. Make it count!" Rika says, handing him an attack boost card. "Digi-Modify! Power activate! Let him have it, boy!"

"Atomic…" WarGrowlmon starts as his cannons prime.

"…Blaster!" both he and Takato shout simultaneously as the cannons fire. Mistymon breaks free but quickly discovers it's already too late. The attack strikes with great precision, melting away his cape, sword, and armor. As the smoke clears, his destabilizing form stands in a crater.

"Digimon Queen… I could have been…your champion…" he mumbles as he falls forward, the crystal ball falling from his grip and rolling forward towards Rika and Takato. As his data dissolves and dissipates, the ball too breaks apart, leaving Rika's blue ringed digivice lying on the concrete.

* * *

Rika stoops down to pick up her digivice, smiling slightly as she touches it, clearly happy to have it back. WarGrowlmon dedigivolves to Guilmon, who falls over, clearly exhausted. "Guilmon! Guilmon, talk to me!" Takato pleads as he reaches his partner's side. "Takato, do you have any peanut butter?" Guilmon asks, drawing both tears and a chuckle from his tamer. "When we get home boy. When we get home. You did it. You did great."

"Rika…" Renamon mumbles, to which Rika responds, "Don't move. Just take it easy for a moment. I've got my digivice again and I have some recovery cards at home." Renamon nods and relaxes herself before watching as Rika turns her gaze toward Takato and begins walking over to him.

"Hey, Gogglehead," Rika says as she approaches, grabbing the boy's attention. "Good job…"

"I guess I got lucky twice with that move, huh?" Takato teases while stroking Guilmon's head.

"Do it anymore, and I'm going to think it's your signature strategy," Rika responds in kind. "Thank you for…"

"Oh yeah! The dance!" he shouts, suddenly standing up

"Rain check, Takato," Rika says, gesturing for Takato to stay put. "Seeing as you're an idiot who doesn't keep a recovery card on him, I have to take Renamon home."

"Oh…my bad…" Takato says, turning his gaze downward.

"I'm just teasing you, Gogglehead. Yea, you're an idiot, but you're also my idiot. Thank you. I'm glad someone finally got rid of that guy, and its good to have this back," she says as she holds up her d-ark.

Takato laughs mildly and nods. "I'm glad we got it back too. I guess I should probably get Guilmon home and then look for the others. Who knows what Mistymon did to them.

"It's Henry and Ryo we're talking about. They'll be fine, Gogglehead." Takato gives another nod before Rika turns to leave. As she does, he says, "Oh, I'm sorry if this whole dance thing didn't really go as expected."

"You know me, Goggles. I didn't even want to come," she answers, giving him a sly smirk.

"Oh. Right," Takato answers scratching the back of his head.

"But I'm glad I did. For what it's worth, it was fun hanging out, just me and you."

"Really?" Takato asks. Rika sighs before saying. "Just take a compliment, Takato." Takato gives another mild smile and nod, causing Rika to briefly scan around to make sure no one else was around. Feeling certain, she steps forward, grabs on of his hands and quickly places a kiss on his lips before turning around. As Takato stands stunned and a little giddy, Rika states firmly. "Tell anyone about that, and I'll kill you." When he doesn't answer, she shakes her head and says, "Good night, Takato. See you tomorrow."

As she and Renamon leave sight, Takato pumps his fist in the air and dances about: "Yes, yes, yes!" he cheers in celebration.

"What happened, Takato? You look really happy and your face is all funny."

"Oh, it's nothing Guilmon," Takato says, scratching the back of his head once more.

"Is it because Rika smushed her face into yours?" Takato grabs the rookie's snout and warns him, "Don't tell anybody! Especially not Terriermon!" When Guilmon nods, he lets him go and says, "Let's get you some peanut butter and try to find the others while the night is still…"

"Takato!"

Takato turns just in time to see Ryo, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, and their partners come up to him. "Where's Rika? Mistymon could get here any moment!" Henry shouts.

"Umm, you're kind of late," Takato informs them while scratching the back of his head.

"Aww! I missed you whooping his butt and dancing with Rika?" Terriermon whines with exasperation. "No fair!"

"Is Rika alright then?" Ryo asks, scanning around as if looking for her.

"Yea, she and Renamon went home. I was actually about to come looking for…" Takato starts.

"Well how was it, Chumly? Did she actually dance?" Kazu asks, interrupting.

"Umm, yea it was fun…" Takato says, blushing slightly.

"Did anything happen that I want to know about?" Terriermon asks, eyes widening with excitement. Takato looks to Guilmon before looking back at them and replying, "Not a thing."


End file.
